Melville David R. Iii Form 4 Business First Bancshares / DAVID R. MELVILLE III ownership change

SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

MELVILLE DAVID R. III

(Last) (First) (Middle)

500 LAUREL STREET, SUITE 101

(Street)

BATON ROUGE LA 70801

(City) (State) (Zip)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Business First Bancshares, Inc. [ BFST ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

X	Director	10% Owner
X	Officer (give title below)	Other (specify below)
President and CEO

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
02/01/2023

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
COMMON STOCK	02/01/2023		A(1)		45,570	A	$20.74	227,709(2)(3)	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares

Explanation of Responses:

1. Reflects the grant of restricted stock to reporting person. The terms of the restricted stock grant are described in footnote 2 below.

2. Includes (a) 9,683 shares of unvested restricted stock granted on 2/1/2021, which will vest on 3/31/2023, (b) 16,430 shares of unvested restricted stock granted on 2/1/2022, of which 8,214 shares will vest on 3/31/2023 and the remaining 8,216 shares will vest on 3/31/2024, and (c) 45,570 shares of restricted stock granted on 2/1/2023, of which 15,038 shares will vest on 3/31/2023, 15,038 shares will vest on 3/31/2024, and the remaining 15,494 shares will vest on 3/31/2025. Under the terms of the relevant restricted stock grants, the reported shares of unvested restricted stock are subject to forfeiture upon the occurrence of certain events.

3. Includes units of employer stock fund through issuer's 401(k) plan equivalent to approximately 6,165 shares.

	/s/ / Heather Roemer, as attorney-in-fact for David R. Melville III	02/03/2023
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
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