COVEY PATRICK M 4

What Happened

• Patrick M. Covey, Chairman, President & CEO and a director of Davey Tree Expert Co., exercised equity awards that resulted in 58,000 shares being issued (exercise price shown as $8.18; aggregate reported value $474,440). On March 27, 2026, a total of 43,614 shares were disposed/withheld to cover tax obligations: 8,834 shares, 17,190 shares and 17,590 shares were disposed at $27.60 per share (total value ≈ $1,203,746). The filings also note an SAR-related payout (automatic exercise of Stock Appreciation Rights) and routine 401(k) plan accumulation of 29,239.6402 shares.

Key Details

• Transaction date(s): March 27, 2026 (SAR exercise calculations completed that date per footnote).
• Exercise/acquisition: 58,000 shares acquired at $8.18 (reported aggregate $474,440).
• Shares withheld/sold for taxes: 8,834; 17,190; and 17,590 shares at $27.60 each (combined ≈ $1.2M).
• Other items: SARs were automatically exercised on March 4, 2026 (footnote); company completed SAR calculations and share issuance on Mar 27, 2026. Footnotes indicate tax withholding related to PRSU/RSU and SAR payouts, and routine 401(k) acquisition of 29,239.6402 shares as of Mar 25, 2026.
• Shares owned after transaction: not specified in the summary data provided in this request.
• Filing timeliness: Form filed 2026-03-30 reporting 3/27/2026 transactions; filing appears timely based on filing date and report period.

Context

• These transactions reflect an exercise/payout of long‑term awards (including SARs and PSU/RSU distributions) with shares withheld/sold to satisfy tax-withholding obligations — a common, routine practice when executives receive equity compensation. This is different from an open‑market sale initiated for liquidity; it’s primarily tax withholding and award settlement. Routine 401(k) share accumulation noted is also standard and not indicative of a directional trading signal.