American Century Companies Inc. Buys 56,032 Shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 866,829 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 56,032 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.14% of ZTO Express (Cayman) worth $17,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,791 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in ZTO Express (Cayman) in the first quarter worth $43,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in ZTO Express (Cayman) during the second quarter valued at $45,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 97,342 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 4,148 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

Shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) stock opened at $21.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. ZTO Express has a 1 year low of $15.90 and a 1 year high of $25.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.48 and its 200 day moving average is $21.20.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The transportation company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 15.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ZTO Express will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s payout ratio is 47.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ZTO. Macquarie cut shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.20 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on ZTO Express (Cayman) from $25.20 to $26.90 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.03.

About ZTO Express (Cayman)

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.