62,491 Shares in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Purchased by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 62,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,291,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Naviter Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,434,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 207.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 237,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,912,000 after purchasing an additional 160,536 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,051,000. Sfmg LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter worth $2,864,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter worth about $2,819,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MSDL opened at $19.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.39. 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 12-month low of $17.59 and a 12-month high of $24.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 0.44.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $103.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.02 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 54.89% and a return on equity of 12.69%. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.27%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSDL shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. UBS Group cut 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 note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

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.