Everpar Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Everpar Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) by 38.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 36,028 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,059 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending were worth $719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,922,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,712,000 after acquiring an additional 71,855 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 1,987.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 352,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,287,000 after buying an additional 335,800 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 207.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 237,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,912,000 after buying an additional 160,536 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter worth $3,434,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter worth $3,051,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE MSDL opened at $19.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 0.42. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a one year low of $17.59 and a one year high of $24.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.23.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.04). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 54.89% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $101.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.86 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.29%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.74%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

In other news, Director Kevin Shannon bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.43 per share, with a total value of $194,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,751. This trade represents a -232.56% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target 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 note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.