Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $3.05 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 147,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,051,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter worth $213,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at $258,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at $271,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at $286,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:MSDL traded down $0.07 on Wednesday, hitting $20.31. 476,643 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 656,194. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.59 and a 200-day moving average of $20.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a fifty-two week low of $19.28 and a fifty-two week high of $24.18.

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

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

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.