D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Takes Position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

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

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comerica Bank increased its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,568 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 47.7% during the 4th quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 13,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 4,462 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth $103,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Performance

MSDL opened at $19.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 0.46. 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. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $19.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.33.

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

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's payout ratio is presently 91.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSDL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.50 to $19.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.

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