Northern Trust Corp Sells 26,396 Shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO)

Northern Trust Corp reduced its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 354,318 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 26,396 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.06% of ZTO Express (Cayman) worth $6,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich boosted its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 11,518 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 14,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 980 shares during the period. 41.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) stock opened at $19.02 on Tuesday. ZTO Express has a 52 week low of $16.34 and a 52 week high of $27.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.42. The company has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.02). ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 20.56%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.73 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ZTO Express will post 1.57 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s payout ratio is currently 45.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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