Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $3.05 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 147,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,051,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.17% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSDL. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter valued at about $200,000. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $271,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $19.25. 370,290 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 646,205. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $19.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.39. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55 and a beta of 0.44. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $107.02 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MSDL shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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, 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 research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.