Naviter Wealth LLC Purchases New Holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Naviter Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 161,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,434,000. Naviter Wealth LLC owned 0.18% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. Muzinich & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 11.6% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 38,625 shares of the company's stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 25,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 6,901 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 27,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 8,830 shares in the last quarter.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending stock traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $20.12. The company had a trading volume of 562,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 677,282. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 1 year low of $19.28 and a 1 year high of $24.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.74 and a 200-day moving average of $20.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.65.

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Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $103.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.02 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 54.89% and a return on equity of 12.69%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSDL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.38.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Profile

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a business development company. It is a non-diversified, externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle-market companies. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is based in NEW YORK.