OCONNOR WALTER 4

What Happened
Walter O'Connor, a portfolio manager at BlackRock MuniYield Quality Fund III, converted/exercised cash‑settled phantom share awards (derivative transactions, coded M) on 2026-01-30 and disposed/surrendered 354.342 shares to the issuer (code D) at $11.16 per share for $3,954. The filing also reports conversions of 193.87 and 160.472 phantom shares (derivative conversions) that are shown as disposals with no dollar amount reported on the Form 4.

Key Details

• Transaction date: January 30, 2026; Form 4 filed February 3, 2026 (Accession 0001193125-26-036316).
• Reported trades: conversion/exercise of phantom/share‑equivalent awards (M) and a disposition to issuer (D).
• Reported sale: 354.342 shares disposed at $11.16 for $3,954. Other converted amounts: 193.87 and 160.472 shares listed as derivative disposals with no cash amount shown.
• Footnotes: F1–F3 indicate these were "phantom shares" (cash‑settled awards) granted on Jan 31, 2023 and Jan 31, 2025 that vest in equal installments over three years.
• Shares owned after the transactions: not disclosed on the provided Form 4.
• No 10b5‑1 plan, tax‑withholding surrender, or late‑filing flag was indicated in the information supplied.

Context
Phantom shares are cash‑settled awards that pay the economic equivalent of stock on vesting; converting them often results in a cash payment rather than a lasting change in share ownership. Here, O'Connor converted vested phantom share awards and surrendered the reported amounts to the issuer (a routine cash settlement), rather than an open‑market sale by an insider indicating new investment activity.