Knauss Jeffery J 4

What Happened
Jeffery J. Knauss, a director of Community Financial System, Inc. (CBU), had 1,254 phantom stock units settled into 1,254 shares of common stock on March 19, 2026. A fractional portion (.5514 share) was paid in cash at $55.61 per share. The equity received is the result of settlement of deferred/phantom units under the company's LTIP rather than an open‑market buy or sale.

Key Details

• Transaction date: March 19, 2026; Form 4 filed March 23, 2026 (timely filing).
• Shares received: 1,254 shares; fractional .5514 share paid in cash at $55.61/share.
• Approximate value: 1,254 × $55.61 ≈ $69,735 in stock (plus ≈ $30.66 cash for the fraction), total ≈ $69.8K.
• Shares owned after transaction: not specified in the provided excerpt.
• Footnotes: F1 — Phantom stock units settled for shares and fractional cash at $55.61; F2 — the units were deferred stock units under the 2022 LTIP (each unit equals one share economically and will be settled in stock at a predetermined date).
• No sale reported: this was a settlement/conversion (derivative exercise, coded “M”), not an immediate sale.

Context
Derivative code M indicates conversion/exercise of a derivative (here, phantom/deferred stock units). These settlements are common for compensation or deferred awards and do not necessarily signal buying or selling sentiment. Because the units were settled into stock rather than sold, this is not a liquidity event for Knauss unless he later disposes of the shares.