On Friday, Boston-based Congress Asset Management reported selling 670,615 shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet (OLLI +3.60%), an estimated $80.86 million trade based on quarterly average pricing.
What Happened
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission released Friday, Congress Asset Management sold 670,615 shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings during the fourth quarter. The estimated value of the transaction was $80.86 million, calculated using the mean unadjusted closing price for the quarter. The fund’s quarter-end holding was 879,320 shares worth $96.38 million.
What Else to Know
Following the sale, Ollie's Bargain Outlet represented 0.68% of Congress Asset Management’s reportable U.S. equity AUM.
Top holdings after the filing:
- NASDAQ:NVDA: $473.16 million (3.34% of AUM)
- NASDAQ:AAPL: $446.82 million (3.15% of AUM)
- NASDAQ:GOOGL: $357.15 million (2.52% of AUM)
- NASDAQ:MSFT: $311.02 million (2.19% of AUM)
- NASDAQ:AVGO: $253.12 million (1.79% of AUM)
As of Friday, shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet were priced at $118.49, up 13% over the past year but underperforming the S&P 500's nearly 18% gain in the same period.
Company Overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Revenue (TTM) | $2.54 billion |
| Net Income (TTM) | $223.60 million |
| Price (as of Friday) | $118.49 |
| One-Year Price Change | 17% |
Company Snapshot
- Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings offers a wide range of discounted brand name merchandise, including housewares, food, health and beauty aids, electronics, toys, and seasonal products.
- The chain operates over 600 stores in 34 states throughout the United States, providing its products under names such as Ollie's Army.
- It targets value-conscious consumers with a focus on closeouts and excess inventory, emphasizing a treasure-hunt shopping experience.
Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. is a U.S. discount retailer specializing in brand name closeouts and excess inventory, and as of September, operated over 600 stores with a focus on value and scale.
What this transaction means for investors
This move shows how professional investors sometimes manage exposure when a business is executing well but perhaps leaving some growth on the table, and cutting a large chunk of Ollie’s while keeping a meaningful position signals recalibration, not retreat.
To be clear, the discount chain’s fundamentals remain strong. In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, net sales jumped 18.6% to $613.6 million, while adjusted EPS surged 29.3% to $0.75. The company opened a record 32 stores in the quarter and raised full-year guidance, now projecting fiscal 2025 revenue of $2.65 billion and adjusted EPS between $3.81 and $3.87. Meanwhile, cash and investments climbed to $432 million, giving Ollie’s ample flexibility to keep expanding its footprint and opportunistically buy inventory.
Even after the sale, Ollie’s remains a holding, but at just 0.68% of assets it sits far below mega-cap technology names like Nvidia, Apple, and Alphabet. That structure suggests retail is viewed as a tactical growth sleeve, not a core driver of returns. In other words, holding on to a smaller stake preserves upside while recognizing that retail cycles can turn quickly, even for well-run discount chains.
Glossary
Assets Under Management (AUM): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a fund or firm.
Reportable U.S. equity assets: U.S. stock holdings that a fund must disclose in regulatory filings.
Quarter-end: The last day of a fiscal quarter, used as a reference point for reporting financial data.
Quarterly average pricing: The mean price of a security calculated over the course of a fiscal quarter.
Top holdings: The largest investments in a fund's portfolio, typically by market value or percentage of AUM.
Filing: An official document submitted to a regulatory authority, often containing financial or ownership information.
Stake: The ownership interest a person or entity holds in a company, usually measured by shares or percentage.
Closeouts: Merchandise sold at a discount because it is discontinued or excess inventory.
Excess inventory: Products that remain unsold and exceed current demand, often sold at reduced prices.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
