The Honest Company, Inc. $HNST Shares Acquired by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in The Honest Company by 18.1%, owning approximately 1,064,179 shares valued at about $5 million after purchasing an additional 163,380 shares in the first quarter.
• Over 45% of Honest's stock is owned by institutional investors, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Nuveen, GSA Capital Partners, and Victory Capital during recent quarters.
• The company reported a revenue of $93.46 million for the last quarter, missing the estimated earnings per share by $0.02 but maintaining a steady net margin of 1.66%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Free Report) by 18.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,064,179 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 163,380 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.97% of Honest worth $5,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Honest by 6,101.8% during the 1st quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 6,822 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 6,712 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Honest during the 1st quarter worth approximately $64,000. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Honest during the 1st quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Honest by 57.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,757 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 6,513 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Honest from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Honest from $5.50 to $4.25 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on shares of Honest from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Honest

In other Honest news, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 12,059 shares of Honest stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total value of $44,015.35. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 568,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,075,346.20. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 99,328 shares of Honest stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total transaction of $362,547.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,998,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,946,324.45. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 131,890 shares of company stock worth $481,399. 8.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Honest Price Performance

Shares of HNST traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.92. The stock had a trading volume of 5,351,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,112,579. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $4.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.61. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.32 and a 1-year high of $8.97. The company has a market cap of $436.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.42 and a beta of 2.32.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.02). Honest had a return on equity of 3.84% and a net margin of 1.66%.The company had revenue of $93.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.18 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

About Honest

The Honest Company, Inc manufactures and sells diapers and wipes, skin and personal care, and household and wellness products. The company also offers baby clothing and nursery bedding products. It sells its products through digital and retail sales channels, such as its website and third-party ecommerce sites, as well as brick and mortar retailers.