. . . up 3.4%, after analysts at Wall Street research house Bernstein raised their 12-month target price to a whopping $1,000 this morning (Business Insider). Amazon is among the 11 big Louisville employer equities in Boulevard’s stock portfolio.
The 25 best-paid hedge fund managers took home a combined $12.94 billion in income last year, according to The New York Times, which makes the best-paid executives at big Louisville employers look like amateurs.
Of 11 companies tracked by Boulevard, the exec with the biggest paycheck last year was GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, who got $33 million, including stock awards, the change in his pension account value, and other benefits.
A news summary, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated 11:01 a.m.
AMAZON and Tyson Foods are close to launching a ready-to-cook ingredients delivery service, akin to what Blue Apron and HelloFresh do, showing the e-commerce company’s growing ambition in the grocery and food business (Business Insider). Restoration Hardware, Land’s End and other retailers are getting into Prime membership-like plans (CBS). As Amazon gets into air delivery, is it time to sell UPS shares (The Street)?
PIZZA HUT is adding 200 stores and about 3,000 jobs across the UK. The expansion will cost £40 million ($57 million U.S.) and a quarter of the stores will be Pizza Hut “Express” formats (Independent). Pizza Hut already has more than 14,100 restaurants and 300,000 employees in nearly 100 countries, excluding the Yum China division; those are about 59% of Yum’s total 505,000 workers (company website).
FORD has filed for a patent for an invention producing artificial noises that make it sound like more cylinders are working, leading drivers to be more fuel-efficient (Markets Daily).
TEXAS ROADHOUSE: In a lawsuit, an Iowa man has accused the company of negligence after he slipped on peanut shells on a Cedar Falls restaurant floor and shattered his knee in February 2015. The steakhouse chain serves buckets of peanuts to customers, and encourages them to throw the discarded shells on the floor, creating a hazard, the suit says (Des Moines Register).
UPS said shareholders re-elected all 11 members of the board of directors during their annual meeting. But stockholders voted down three shareholder proposals, including one on “Holy Land Principles” that would govern the shipper’s Israeli-Palestinian employment practices (SEC filing).
KINDRED has filed its quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (10-Q filing).
In other news, U.S. stock markets were climbing, with the S&P 500 index at 2077, up 1% (Google Finance). Led by Amazon, nearly all components in the 11-stock Boulevard Stock Portfolio were trading higher.
A news summary, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated 4:54 p.m.
UPS just announced that its corporate foundation will explore using drones to deliver life-saving medicines such as blood and vaccines are delivered across the world. The foundation has awarded an $800,000 grant to support the initial launch in Rwanda (press release). Here’s the foundation’s GuideStar page, including annual IRS tax returns.
FORD: A top executive now says that while dropping the two-tier wage system increased labor costs, it eliminated a major source of anxiety in the automaker’s plants (Automotive News).
AMAZON: 1,500 Amazon shareholders want the company to stop selling Trump-branded products (Fast Company). CEO Jeff Bezos has sold 1% of his stake — just over one million shares — worth $671 million. The stock was sold last Thursday according to a predetermined schedule called an SEC Rule 10b5-1 plan, and takes his stake down to 17% of the company from 17.5% (New York Post). Regulatory filing. Amazon shares closed this afternoon at $679.75, up less than 1%.
CHURCHILL DOWNS: Only 17 people were arrested in and around the namesake track on Derby Day (Courier-Journal).
KINDRED: Why the healthcare giant isn’t content being the No. 1 home health provider, according to CEO Benjamin Breier (Home Healthcare News).
In other news, Metro Council President David Yates is expected to introduce an amendment today exempting Airbnb and other short-term rentals from some regulations during major events, such as the Kentucky Derby (WFPL). Former state agriculture commissioner and University of Kentucky basketball star Richie Farmer has filed for bankruptcy (Courier-Journal).
Newspaper publisher Tribune Publishing Co. said its board had adopted a shareholder rights plan — popularly known as a “poison pill” — in a bid to thwart Courier-Journal owner Gannett Co.’s unsolicited $815 million takeover offer (Reuters).
The Wild Dog Rose tea shop will open later this month in the Highlands at 1570 Bardstown Road (Insider Louisville). Also, the owners of Magnolia Photo Booth Co. in NuLu have opened a second store right next door, selling custom t-shirts for kids and adults. The new shop, called OSO Goods, is also at 709 E. Market St. (Insider Louisville, too).
Shares of big employers in the Boulevard Stock Portfolio, ranked by weekly performance at today’s closing price, with the S&P 500 index for comparison.
Latest news, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated 5:39 p.m.
FORD Executive Vice President Joseph Hinrichs sold 60,000 shares of stock at $13.32 a share yesterday for a total near $800,000, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing this afternoon. Ford paid Hinrichs $6.4 million last year, including changes to his pension value. Boulevard’s executive pay database.
KINDRED said it plans to make presentations at two upcoming investor conferences later this month (press release). Also, the company held a first-quarter earnings conference call with analysts at 9 a.m. today. How to listen to the replay; the company released results yesterday (press release). And the board of directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 12 cents a share (press release). Shares closed at $13.44 down 7.3% this afternoon.
HUMANA just filed its first-quarter 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Also, the insurer may exit some states’ insurance exchanges next year, the company said during its first-quarter report yesterday (Business First, Insider Louisville and CJ). In the pre-market, shares were basically flat at $175.70.
TEXAS ROADHOUSE has just filed its 10-Q, too.
UPS shareholders have re-elected the full slate of 11 board members (press release).
YUM has filed initial documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission on its planned China division spinoff (Business First).
PAPA JOHN’S: Here’s a transcript of yesterday’s first-quarter conference call with analysts.
In other news, the Powerball jackpot is now a staggering $415 million, the ninth-largest potential payout in U.S. history, after no winning numbers were drawn last night; next drawing is Saturday (WAVE). Last night’s numbers: 30 47 57 66 69 3. How to play. Also, Norton Healthcare is adding four operating rooms to the Women’s and Kosair Children’s Hospital in the Dupont area as part of a 7,000 square-foot addition (Business First).
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