Merkel Jason 4

What Happened Jason Merkel, VP — Distribution at NorthWestern Energy (NWE), received 1,331 shares as the vesting payout of performance units under the company's 2023 Long-Term Incentive Program. The shares were valued at $68.45 each (total ~$91,107). Separately, 461 shares were surrendered/withheld to cover tax obligations (reported as a disposition with code F).

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-02-27; Filing date: 2026-03-02 (Form 4 accession 0001945750-26-000004).
• Awarded: 1,331 shares @ $68.45 each = $91,107 (code A — award/acquisition).
• Tax withholding: 461 shares disposed @ $0.00 = $0 (code F — tax withholding).
• Shares owned after the transaction: not specified in the provided filing details.
• Footnotes: F1 — shares were acquired upon 12/31/2025 vesting of performance units from the 2023 LTIP. F2 — share price used ($68.45) is the closing price on 2/11/2026, the date the board approved payout and vesting.

Context This was a vesting of long-term incentive performance units, not an open-market purchase or sale. The 461-share disposition is routine tax withholding (company retains shares to satisfy withholding) and does not necessarily indicate a deliberate sale or change in sentiment by the insider.