The Madison Square Garden Company $MSGS Shares Bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in The Madison Square Garden Company by 11.8% in Q3 to 117,905 shares (about $26.76 million), representing roughly 0.49% ownership.
• Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares at an average price of $325.26 on Feb. 20, cutting his stake by 92.86% to 435 shares; corporate insiders now hold 19.07% of the stock.
• The analyst view is mixed — four Buys, four Holds and one Sell with a consensus rating of “Hold” and a $286 price target — and MSGS recently missed EPS (reported $0.34 vs. $0.66 expected) while revenue rose 12.7% year-over-year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS - Free Report) by 11.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,905 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,412 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.49% of Madison Square Garden worth $26,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSGS. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 1.9% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 614,788 shares of the company's stock worth $128,460,000 after acquiring an additional 11,464 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 0.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 455,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,688 shares during the period. Greenhouse Funds LLLP boosted its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP now owns 434,910 shares of the company's stock worth $90,874,000 after purchasing an additional 26,583 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 390,685 shares of the company's stock worth $88,685,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 234,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,032,000 after purchasing an additional 20,277 shares in the last quarter. 68.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Madison Square Garden

In other news, Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.26, for a total transaction of $1,840,646.34. Following the sale, the director owned 435 shares in the company, valued at $141,488.10. This trade represents a 92.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 19.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSGS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Madison Square Garden from $290.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wolfe Research cut Madison Square Garden from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Madison Square Garden presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $286.00.

Madison Square Garden Price Performance

NYSE:MSGS opened at $310.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of -450.47 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $253.90. The Madison Square Garden Company has a 1-year low of $173.26 and a 1-year high of $345.46.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $403.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $394.58 million. The business's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Madison Square Garden Company will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Madison Square Garden Company Profile

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.

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