Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Shares Acquired by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,625 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,025 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 16.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,780,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,898,000 after buying an additional 250,167 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 377.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 123,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,449,000 after purchasing an additional 97,893 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,599,000. ASB Consultores LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,589,000. Finally, Fountainhead AM LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter worth $515,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Price Performance

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending stock opened at $21.01 on Wednesday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.87 billion and a P/E ratio of 8.24. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 12-month low of $19.05 and a 12-month high of $24.18.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 10.1%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.42.

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.