Citigroup Inc. Purchases 29,656 Shares of The Madison Square Garden Company $MSGS

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) by 294.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,718 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,656 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.17% of Madison Square Garden worth $9,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 5,450.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Madison Square Garden in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Madison Square Garden during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $80,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Madison Square Garden by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Madison Square Garden by 313.4% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. 68.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MSGS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Madison Square Garden from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. boosted their price objective on Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Madison Square Garden from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Madison Square Garden presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.00.

Madison Square Garden Stock Up 3.0%

MSGS opened at $331.28 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -480.12 and a beta of 0.56. The Madison Square Garden Company has a twelve month low of $173.26 and a twelve month high of $345.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.46.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Madison Square Garden 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 value of $1,840,646.34. Following the sale, the director owned 435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,488.10. This trade represents a 92.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 19.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.