OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Makes New Investment in ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTO. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 11,518 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC acquired a new stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) during the fourth quarter worth about $232,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) during the fourth quarter worth about $248,000. 41.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of ZTO opened at $18.74 on Thursday. ZTO Express has a 1 year low of $16.34 and a 1 year high of $27.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.58. The stock has a market cap of $11.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.14.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.73 billion. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 15.44%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ZTO Express will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTO has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $25.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ZTO Express (Cayman) has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.