KRUSZEWSKI RONALD J 4

What Happened

• Ronald J. Kruszewski, CEO of Stifel Financial Corp (SF), had equity award activity on Feb 18, 2026: the filing shows exercise/conversion activity and a new grant of performance-restricted stock units (PRSUs).
• Specifics in the filing: 73,963 shares were acquired via exercise/conversion (code M) at $0.00; 92,453 units were issued as a grant/award (code A) at $0.00 (derivative); 32,581 shares were disposed/withheld (code F) to satisfy tax withholding at $120.49 per share, totaling $3,925,685.
• This was not an open-market buy or sale — it reflects vesting/exercise of awards with a portion of shares withheld for tax obligations.

Key Details

• Transaction date: February 18, 2026; Form 4 filed February 20, 2026 (timely within the typical two-business-day window).
• Transactions reported:
  • M: 73,963 shares acquired @ $0.00 (exercise/conversion)
  • F: 32,581 shares disposed/withheld @ $120.49 = $3,925,685 (tax withholding)
  • A: 92,453 units granted/issued @ $0.00 (PRSU derivative)
  • Additional M entry: 73,963 shares shown as a derivative disposition (reporting of conversion mechanics)
• Shares owned after the transactions: not specified in the provided filing extract.
• Footnotes: Units issued under the PRSU award agreement dated Feb 18, 2022 — 80% vested now, remaining 20% vests in one year (F1). Units have no expiration (F2) and are currently exercisable (F3).

Context

• These entries indicate a vesting/exercise event with tax-withholding (a common cashless-style settlement), not an open-market sale that necessarily signals a change in the CEO’s market view.
• For retail investors: the key takeaway is the CEO received/converted award units into shares and surrendered a portion (32,581) to cover taxes (~$3.93M). Such filings are routine for executives receiving equity compensation.