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

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

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSDL. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at $344,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at about $316,000. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter worth about $213,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 4.4% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $437,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE MSDL opened at $20.71 on Friday. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 12 month low of $19.28 and a 12 month high of $24.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.65. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.52.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders 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 yield of 9.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MSDL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.38.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Company 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.