David Raynor Byers, Ardent Health, Inc.’s senior vice president and chief accounting officer, surrendered 524 company shares for tax withholding on September 25, 2026, according to transaction information reported to the SEC on Form 4. Ardent Health trades under the ticker ARDT.

The transaction carried a reported price of $10.54 per share. Multiplying that price by the share count produces $5,522.96, or approximately $5,523. That amount describes the value of the shares surrendered; it does not establish that Byers received an equivalent cash payment.

The disclosure identifies the transaction as tax withholding. It therefore should not be described as a discretionary sale on a stock exchange. The supplied information also indicates that the transaction was not made under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

The record provides a specific account of the reported share disposition: the officer involved, the company, the date, the number of shares and the price assigned to them. It does not explain the underlying compensation award, provide Byers’ remaining holdings or state his expectations for Ardent Health’s business or stock price. Without a post-transaction ownership figure, the 524 shares cannot be expressed as a percentage of his total stake.

How share withholding works

Companies can satisfy tax-withholding obligations associated with equity compensation by retaining or accepting back some of an employee’s shares. The shares withheld cover an obligation that otherwise would require a cash payment through another arrangement. This mechanism can accompany events such as the vesting or settlement of stock awards.

The available information does not identify which compensation event generated Byers’ withholding obligation. It also does not specify a tax rate, the total value of any related award or whether other shares were delivered to him. Those details cannot be calculated from the surrendered shares alone.

Form 4 is the SEC’s public disclosure form for reportable changes in beneficial ownership by corporate directors, certain officers and shareholders owning more than 10% of a covered class of equity securities. Such reports generally must be filed within two business days of a reportable transaction, subject to applicable exceptions. The form covers more than ordinary purchases and sales: equity awards, exercises and certain other ownership changes can also appear.

What the trading-plan detail establishes

Rule 10b5-1 provides a framework under which a qualifying trading arrangement can offer an affirmative defense against insider-trading liability, subject to conditions. These arrangements are generally established before the person making the arrangement possesses material nonpublic information.

The absence of such a plan does not, by itself, establish misconduct or explain an executive’s motivation. Here, the reported transaction category supplies the relevant mechanism: shares were surrendered to meet withholding obligations. Neither that category nor the plan status provides a forecast for the company.

What to watch

The complete Form 4, including any footnotes and ownership totals, is the next record to consult for additional detail. Any later filings should be assessed separately by transaction type, date and size; this disclosure alone does not establish a broader pattern of buying or selling.