The Honest Company, Inc. $HNST Shares Purchased 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 The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Free Report) by 18.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,064,179 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 163,380 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.97% of Honest worth $5,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Honest in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,554,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in Honest by 68.2% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 272,284 shares of the company's stock worth $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 110,408 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Honest by 103.5% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,046,868 shares of the company's stock worth $14,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,040 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Honest by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 210,351 shares of the company's stock worth $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 81,227 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Honest by 98.8% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,073,471 shares of the company's stock worth $14,445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,527,080 shares during the period. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Honest Price Performance

HNST opened at $4.01 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.19 million, a P/E ratio of 80.22 and a beta of 2.32. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.32 and a 12 month high of $8.97.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $93.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.18 million. Honest had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 3.84%. Research analysts anticipate that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Honest Company Profile

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.

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