Pierce James Andrew 4

What Happened

• On 2026-02-02, Pierce James Andrew (Group President) exercised stock options to acquire 13,840 shares at an exercise price of $96.64 per share (cost ≈ $1,337,498). Immediately after, 8,432 of those shares were withheld to cover taxes (reported as disposed) at an average reported price of $369.56 (value ≈ $3,116,130). Separately, 475 shares were sold in the open market at an average price of $368.87 (proceeds ≈ $175,215). The derivative conversion is also reported (13,840 shares converted/exercised).

Key Details

• Transaction date: February 2, 2026; filing date: February 3, 2026 (timely).
• Option exercise: 13,840 shares @ $96.64 (acquired), total exercise cost ≈ $1.34M.
• Tax withholding: 8,432 shares @ $369.56 (disposed), value ≈ $3.12M.
• Open-market sale: 475 shares @ $368.87 (disposed), proceeds ≈ $175.2K.
• Total shares disposed that day: 8,907; total cash proceeds/withheld value ≈ $3,291,345.
• Shares owned after transaction: Not specified in this Form 4.
• Notable footnotes: F1 — sale price is a weighted average; actual sale prices ranged $368.7534–$368.92. F2 — options were granted under the Stryker 2011 Long-Term Incentive Plan (20% vesting each year).
• Filing timeliness: Reported the next day, consistent with standard Form 4 timing (not flagged as late).

Context

• This was an option exercise followed by share withholding to satisfy tax obligations (a common "cashless" or net-share settlement mechanism) and a small open-market sale. Exercises and withheld shares to cover taxes are routine for executives converting vested options and do not, by themselves, indicate a change in long-term sentiment.