OCONNOR WALTER 4

What Happened

• Walter O'Connor, a portfolio manager at BlackRock MuniAssets Fund, exercised/converted cash‑settled phantom share awards and had 1,051.058 shares disposed to the issuer at $11.07 per share, producing $11,635 in cash on January 30, 2026. The filing also reports conversions/dispositions of 389.176, 336.025 and 325.858 phantom/derivative shares (no per‑share price reported for those line items).
• This was not an open‑market purchase; it was a cash settlement/return of phantom/share equivalents (a form of payout), so it represents a routine award settlement rather than a stock‑market sale for investment exposure.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-01-30; reported on Form 4 filed 2026-02-03 (filed within the typical 2‑business‑day window).
• Reported disposition: 1,051.058 shares at $11.07 each = $11,635 (disposition to issuer). Other reported derivative conversions/dispositions: 389.176, 336.025 and 325.858 shares (price reported as N/A).
• Shares owned after the transaction: not stated in the provided filing excerpt.
• Footnotes: these entries relate to "phantom shares" (F1) — cash‑settled awards granted in prior years (grants dated Jan 31, 2023; Jan 31, 2024; Jan 31, 2025) that vest in equal installments over three years (F2–F4). The phantom shares are payable in cash on vesting.
• Filing timeliness: no late filing indicated.

Context

• These are derivative/phantom share settlements (code M for exercise/conversion; D for disposition to issuer) and appear to be cash settlements of vested award installments rather than a market sale of owned common stock. Such settlements are typically routine payroll/compensation events and do not necessarily signal insider sentiment about the company’s stock.