Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in The Madison Square Garden Company $MSGS

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,855,851 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,828 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Madison Square Garden worth $421,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Amundi grew its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 4.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Madison Square Garden by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 27,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,006 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Madison Square Garden by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 24,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,830,000 after acquiring an additional 5,452 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Madison Square Garden during the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Madison Square Garden by 10.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSGS has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Madison Square Garden from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Madison Square Garden from $290.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Madison Square Garden from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares of Madison Square Garden stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.26, for a total value of $1,840,646.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,488.10. The trade was a 92.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 19.07% of the company’s stock.

Madison Square Garden Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of MSGS stock opened at $321.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of -466.30 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $281.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.94. The Madison Square Garden Company has a 52 week low of $173.26 and a 52 week high of $345.46.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $403.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $394.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.05 EPS. Madison Square Garden’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Madison Square Garden Company will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp (NYSE: MSGS) is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA’s New York Knicks, the NHL’s New York Rangers and the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.