COVEY PATRICK M 4

What Happened
Patrick M. Covey, Chairman, President & CEO and a director of Davey Tree Expert Co., reported option exercises and share disposals on March 23, 2026. The filing shows an exercise (derivative M) of 10,000 shares at $8.80 (cost $88,000) resulting in acquisition; the same day the filing reports disposals of 6,125 shares in an open-market/private sale (S) and an additional derivative conversion of 10,000 shares reported as disposed at $0.00. The transactions were reported on the Form 4 filed March 24, 2026.

Key Details

• Transaction date: March 23, 2026; Form 4 filed March 24, 2026 (timely).
• Exercise: 10,000 shares at $8.80 — total cash paid $88,000 (reported as acquired).
• Disposals: 6,125 shares (open market/private sale) reported at $0.00; 10,000 derivative shares also reported disposed at $0.00 (per the filing).
• Shares owned after transactions: 29,239.6402 common shares per company records (footnote F1).
• Footnotes: F1 = routine accumulation of 29,239.6402 shares via the company 401(k) as of March 23, 2026. F2 = the options vest in 20% installments each anniversary beginning June 23, 2018.
• Filing timeliness: Appears timely (transaction 3/23/2026; filing 3/24/2026).

Context
The insider exercised stock options (derivative M). The same-day disposals and $0.00 amounts reported for some disposals often reflect net share settlement or withholding for exercise costs/taxes rather than a straightforward cash sale — review the filing footnotes for details. Purchases (exercises that increase holdings) are generally viewed as more informative than routine disposals; this filing shows both an acquisition via exercise and same-day disposals.