BALL M LEROY 4
Research Summary
AI-generated summary
Koppers (KOP) CEO Ball Exercises Options, Sells Shares for Taxes
What Happened
- M. LeRoy Ball, CEO and Director of Koppers Holdings (KOP), exercised 30,000 stock options on Feb 10, 2026 at an exercise price of $18.11, for a cash cost of $543,300. As part of the transaction, 22,241 shares were withheld/sold at about $33.20 per share to satisfy tax withholding obligations (value reported $738,401). After the withholding, Ball retained a net 7,759 shares from this exercise.
Key Details
- Transaction date: 2026-02-10; Form 4 filed: 2026-02-12 (appears timely).
- Option exercise: 30,000 shares exercised @ $18.11 = $543,300 (code M).
- Tax withholding/settlement: 22,241 shares disposed @ $33.20 = $738,401 (code F).
- Derivative conversion: 30,000 option units reported as converted to shares (M, $0 reported for derivative disposition).
- Net shares received from this transaction: 30,000 − 22,241 = 7,759 shares retained by the insider.
- Footnote: Options vest in annual installments of 25% over 4 years (F1).
- Shares owned after the transaction: not specified in the supplied transaction details.
Context
- This was an option exercise with shares withheld/sold to cover tax obligations (a common, routine post-exercise tax settlement), not an open-market purchase or a discretionary sale for investment reasons. The derivative entry reflects conversion of options into common shares; the F code indicates shares were used to satisfy tax withholding rather than a separate planned market sale.