D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 131,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,715,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,922,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,712,000 after acquiring an additional 71,855 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 1,987.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 352,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,287,000 after buying an additional 335,800 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 207.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 237,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,912,000 after buying an additional 160,536 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 102.9% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 164,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,389,000 after buying an additional 83,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter valued at $3,434,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MSDL traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.45. The stock had a trading volume of 247,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 608,635. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 12 month low of $17.59 and a 12 month high of $24.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's fifty day moving average is $19.49 and its 200 day moving average is $20.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $101.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.86 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 54.89%. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.28%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's payout ratio is 91.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MSDL shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.50 to $19.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.00.

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.