ING Groep NV Lowers Stock Position in The Madison Square Garden Company $MSGS

ING Groep NV cut its holdings in shares of The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) by 61.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Madison Square Garden were worth $1,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Madison Square Garden in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,215,000. Bollard Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Madison Square Garden during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,283,000. Scopus Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Madison Square Garden in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,787,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 1,021.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,099,000 after buying an additional 44,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Madison Square Garden by 215.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 56,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,785,000 after buying an additional 38,497 shares in the last quarter. 68.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSGS shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Madison Square Garden from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Madison Square Garden from $290.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Five equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Madison Square Garden has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $280.00.

Madison Square Garden Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSGS opened at $291.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -422.48 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.80. The Madison Square Garden Company has a 1 year low of $173.26 and a 1 year high of $298.97.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $403.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $394.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Madison Square Garden Company will post 0.73 EPS for the current 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.