Lazard Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 742,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 72,196 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) were worth $14,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 831.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,168,821 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $22,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,359 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,860,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $153,669,000 after acquiring an additional 820,686 shares during the last quarter. Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. now owns 6,617,077 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $129,364,000 after acquiring an additional 633,604 shares during the last quarter. WFM ASIA BVI Ltd bought a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 4th quarter worth about $11,364,000. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 1,345,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,306,000 after acquiring an additional 359,578 shares during the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Price Performance

Shares of ZTO opened at $18.43 on Wednesday. ZTO Express has a 1-year low of $16.34 and a 1-year high of $27.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.13 and a 200 day moving average of $19.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.14.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 18th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.02). ZTO Express (Cayman) had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.73 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.7%. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. HSBC upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.28.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Profile

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc provides express delivery and other value-added logistics services in the People's Republic of China. It offers freight forwarding services; and delivery services for e-commerce and traditional merchants, and other express service users. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.