TT Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

TT Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 45,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $972,000. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending makes up approximately 0.8% of TT Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. TT Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter valued at about $84,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 132.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 40,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $834,000 after acquiring an additional 22,967 shares in the last quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at about $756,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,051,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 1,987.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 352,700 shares of the company's stock worth $7,287,000 after buying an additional 335,800 shares in the last quarter.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Performance

MSDL stock traded up $0.18 on Friday, hitting $19.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 374,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,392. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.43. 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 1 year low of $17.59 and a 1 year high of $24.18.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $103.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.02 million. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.38%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSDL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.50.

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.