Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Shares Purchased by Shikiar Asset Management Inc.

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) by 101.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 173,850 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 87,700 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending comprises 1.0% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.20% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending worth $3,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the first quarter worth about $66,000. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 515.5% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,771 shares of the company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 5,671 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

In other Morgan Stanley Direct Lending news, Director Kevin Shannon acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.43 per share, for a total transaction of $194,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $110,751. The trade was a -232.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of MSDL stock traded down $0.17 on Monday, hitting $19.28. The stock had a trading volume of 490,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,770. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a one year low of $17.59 and a one year high of $24.18. 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 company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.22.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $101.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $102.86 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 54.89%. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.37%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio is presently 91.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSDL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.50 to $19.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.00.

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.