Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) by 1,987.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 352,700 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 335,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending worth $7,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSDL. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth $204,000. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth $229,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at about $258,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter worth about $271,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MSDL stock traded up $0.06 on Thursday, hitting $19.36. The stock had a trading volume of 110,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 654,522. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.94 and a 200 day moving average of $20.40. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 12-month low of $17.59 and a 12-month high of $24.18.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $103.00 million for 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, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MSDL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.50 to $19.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.40.

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.