B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 13,252 Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSDL. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at $1,555,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at about $295,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 11.6% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 38,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 4,025 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter worth about $437,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 4.4% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 1.0 %

MSDL stock opened at $20.84 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.51 and its 200 day moving average is $20.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.17. 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 1-year low of $19.05 and a 1-year high of $24.18.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.