From May 2009 onward, FedEx Corporation (FDX) executives have been consistently exercising options and selling shares.  It began with FedEx Express President David Bronczek, who on May 4th exercised 40,000 shares at about $56 and sold for only $59.  The next day, the CFO and the CEO made similar trades.

In July, David Bronczek started up another round of cashing in on options followed again by the CFO, although this time the option exercises were from around $40 with the stock having risen to around $70, earning them millions in profits.  Included in the option exercises were shares that still had another year remaining before their exercisable expiration date, suggesting a possible lack of confidence in the stock.  The Chief Information Officer, Robert Carter, also sold shares (including personal shares) and just today, an executive vice president, Michael Glenn, sold executed option shares, most of which expire in 2011.

The current year price-to-earnings ratio of FDX is around 24 based on analyst estimates.  Analysts expect the following fiscal year ending in May 2011 to have 38% earnings growth.  Executives seem to be signaling a willingness to let go of their shares given that expectations for earnings growth seem to be high.  UPS expected earnings growth, for example, is approximately 24%.

It's always a good idea to pay close attention to what executives do, rather than what they say.  Here, they are clearly being cautious with their personal stake in FedEx.  Their caution began in May with a $59.  At over $73 today, you can bet they will continue to exercise caution with their own shares.