Ariel Investments LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Madison Square Garden Company $MSGS

Ariel Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) by 9.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 757,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,106 shares during the period. Madison Square Garden makes up approximately 1.8% of Ariel Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Ariel Investments LLC owned 3.16% of Madison Square Garden worth $158,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Madison Square Garden by 59.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 407.7% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Madison Square Garden in the second quarter valued at $111,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 9.0% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 68.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSGS. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Madison Square Garden from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Madison Square Garden from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on Madison Square Garden in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Madison Square Garden from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on Madison Square Garden in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Madison Square Garden currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.50.

Madison Square Garden Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSGS opened at $225.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of -230.04 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.07. The Madison Square Garden Company has a 1 year low of $173.26 and a 1 year high of $237.99.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.04) by $0.67. The firm had revenue of $39.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.41 million. Madison Square Garden had a negative return on equity of 1.76% and a negative net margin of 2.31%.Madison Square Garden’s quarterly revenue was down 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.31) EPS. 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. operates as a professional sports company in the United States. The company owns and operates a portfolio of assets that consists of the New York Knickerbockers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. Its other professional franchises include development league teams, the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League and the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League.