Maher Christopher 4

What Happened

• Christopher Maher, Chairman & CEO (also a director) of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (OCFC), exercised stock options on 2026-02-17 for 59,677 shares at an exercise price of $17.28 per share (gross value ≈ $1,031,219).
• To cover the exercise price and tax withholding, 55,172 shares were withheld/treated as disposed at a reported value of $19.71 per share (≈ $1,087,440). The filing also shows a corresponding derivative disposition entry related to the exercise.
• This was an option exercise with shares withheld to satisfy obligations (a cashless/withholding-style transaction), not an open-market sale of retained shares.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-02-17; Form filed: 2026-02-18 (timely).
• Option exercise: 59,677 shares @ $17.28 (acquired) — gross value ≈ $1,031,219.
• Tax/exercise withholding: 55,172 shares @ $19.71 (disposed) — value ≈ $1,087,440.
• Net shares issued to insider: 59,677 - 55,172 = 4,505 shares retained (net increase).
• Footnotes: F1 notes totals include restricted common stock that has not yet vested; F2 notes exempt acquisitions pursuant to Rule 16b-3(c) (standard for certain compensatory transactions).
• Transaction codes: M = option exercise/conversion; F = payment of exercise price/tax withholding. The filing shows both acquisition and disposition entries as part of the exercise/withholding mechanics.
• No indication of a late filing; this Form 4 was filed the day after the transaction.

Context

• This was an option exercise with most shares withheld to cover costs and taxes — a common, routine way executives satisfy exercise/tax obligations and not the same signal as an open-market sale.
• Purchases or exercises that result in retained shares can be considered modestly bullish; here the net retention was 4,505 shares, though some are noted as restricted and may not yet be vested.
• The Rule 16b-3(c) footnote indicates the acquisition was an exempt compensatory transaction rather than a market purchase.