ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. $ZTO Shares Bought by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in ZTO Express by 20.3% to 1,077,250 shares (about $22.5M), representing roughly 0.18% ownership at quarter-end.
• Several analysts upgraded ZTO—JPMorgan raised its price target to $29 with an "overweight", Zacks and Macquarie moved to "strong-buy"—leaving an average analyst rating of Buy and an average target of $24.45.
• ZTO announced a $0.39 dividend payable April 29 to shareholders of record April 8, with the article reporting a dividend yield of 318.0% and a payout ratio of 48.1%.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO - Free Report) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,077,250 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 181,600 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned about 0.18% of ZTO Express (Cayman) worth $22,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 4.9% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,999,407 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $153,589,000 after acquiring an additional 376,179 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC raised its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 6.3% during the third quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 1,439,998 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $27,648,000 after acquiring an additional 85,545 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new position in ZTO Express (Cayman) during the third quarter worth $25,672,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 2,573.3% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 612,738 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $11,765,000 after acquiring an additional 589,817 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 2.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 581,339 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $11,161,000 after acquiring an additional 12,703 shares during the period. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ZTO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Macquarie Infrastructure upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $24.45.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ZTO opened at $25.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of -0.17. ZTO Express has a 52 week low of $16.68 and a 52 week high of $26.20.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The transportation company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a net margin of 18.50% and a return on equity of 14.05%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ZTO Express will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 318.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 8th. ZTO Express (Cayman)'s dividend payout ratio is 48.10%.

About ZTO Express (Cayman)

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc is one of China's leading express delivery companies, specializing in both domestic and cross-border parcel logistics. The company operates a technology-enabled network that connects shippers, independent pickup and delivery stations, regional sorting hubs and end customers. ZTO's service portfolio includes standard express, heavy-weight parcel delivery, time-definite shipments and e-commerce logistics solutions tailored for online retailers and marketplaces.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Shanghai, ZTO has grown rapidly by leveraging a franchise-style operating model that engages a broad network of independent contractors.

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