LPL Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) by 96.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 56,164 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,552 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending were worth $1,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSDL. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 11.6% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 38,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 4,025 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at $295,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,555,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at $271,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSDL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.50.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Price Performance

MSDL stock opened at $19.27 on Friday. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 12 month low of $17.59 and a 12 month high of $24.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.42.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.06). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 54.89% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $103.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.02 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s payout ratio is currently 82.30%.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Company 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.