Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Holdings Trimmed by Cliffwater LLC

Cliffwater LLC lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) by 31.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,446,014 shares of the company’s stock after selling 678,014 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending comprises 7.3% of Cliffwater LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Cliffwater LLC owned about 1.63% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending worth $29,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Comerica Bank grew 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 during the last quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth $103,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake 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 valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 5,671 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth $200,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Price Performance

Shares of MSDL opened at $19.03 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.46 and a beta of 0.46. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 52 week low of $17.59 and a 52 week high of $24.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.65 and a 200-day moving average of $20.35.

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

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on MSDL shares. 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research 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 on the stock 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.20.

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.