Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in ZTO Express (Cayman)'s growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• 51% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
• Institutions own 29% of ZTO Express (Cayman)

To get a sense of who is truly in control of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 40% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit US$17b market cap following a 3.4% gain in the stock.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about ZTO Express (Cayman).

View our latest analysis for ZTO Express (Cayman)

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ZTO Express (Cayman)?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

ZTO Express (Cayman) already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at ZTO Express (Cayman)'s earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

ZTO Express (Cayman) is not owned by hedge funds. With a 27% stake, CEO Meisong Lai is the largest shareholder. With 8.4% and 8.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Alibaba Group Holding Limited and Jianfa Lai are the second and third largest shareholders.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 51% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of ZTO Express (Cayman)

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc.. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful US$6.6b stake in this US$17b business. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 22% stake in ZTO Express (Cayman). While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 8.4% of the ZTO Express (Cayman) shares on issue. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.