Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Shares Purchased by Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) by 257.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,741 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,970 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.06% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Comerica Bank boosted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,568 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 13,820 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 4,462 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 34,161 shares of the company's stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 4,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $103,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:MSDL traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $19.84. The stock had a trading volume of 223,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,861. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.34. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.04). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 54.89%. The company had revenue of $101.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.86 million. Equities research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.08%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio is currently 91.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSDL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.50 to $19.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Four equities 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.20.

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.