Weekly Investor – October 19, 2020
S&P Up for the Week
Stocks finished up last week. The S&P 500® Index gained 0.2% as Industrials and Communication Services were the best sectors, while Real Estate and Energy lagged. Third quarter earnings started in earnest last week, as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corporation, Wells Fargo & Company, CitiGroup Inc. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. all reported quarterly results. JPMorgan rose 0.3% on news the company’s loan loss reserves were below estimates, implying better than expected credit quality. Goldman Sachs fell 0.6% on higher expenses. Wells Fargo fared the worst amongst the big banks, falling 9.6% on concerns over the bank’s outlook for net interest income. Investment behemoth Blackrock announced record quarterly earnings. Blackrock’s earnings were fueled by strong fund inflows.
Earnings kick into high gear this week and next, which will be a focus of investors’ attention, along with the final presidential debate this Thursday.
The S&P 500 Index was up 0.2% for the week. Its top-performing sectors were Industrials (1.1%) and Communication Services (0.9%), while the bottom-performing sectors were Energy (-2.1%) and Real Estate (-2.3%). In the fixed-income market, the 10-year Treasury yield was even, ending at 0.8%.
We continue to seek companies that reflect our Change-BasedSM investment approach.
Change Based Investment
Founded in 1966, Mastercard Incorporated provides technology to enable electronic payments for individuals, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses worldwide. Mastercard’s brands include MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus.
Mastercard is well-positioned to benefit from the continuing change in payments from cash and checks to electronic transactions. The company has a solid track record of being a technology leader in its industry, consistently delivering growth to its shareholders. In addition, the company continues to make acquisitions to broaden its geographic reach and increase its product offerings. In the current COVID-19 environment investors will watch closely for any changes in consumer spending and travel. While that may impact Mastercard in the near term we believe the long-term growth prospects for the company and the change in payments globally make Mastercard a fit for Argent’s Change-BasedSM investment approach.
Top 5 Equity Holdings
Large Cap Growth
| Apple, Inc. | 6.8% |
| Alphabet, Inc. (Google) | 6.2% |
| Target Corporation | 6.0% |
| Danaher Corporation | 5.7% |
| Mastercard Incorporated | 5.6% |
Small Cap Core
| Medpace Holdings, Inc. | 4.0% |
| Fortinet, Inc. | 3.2% |
| OneMain Holdings, Inc. | 3.0% |
| Addus Homecare Corp | 2.9% |
| Upland Software, Inc. | 2.9% |
Dividend Select
| Target Corporation | 6.9% |
| Microsoft Corporation | 6.2% |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 4.6% |
| Eaton Corporation Plc | 3.8% |
| Life Storage, Inc. | 3.7% |
Mid Cap
| NVIDIA Corporation | 5.7% |
| Cintas Corporation | 4.5% |
| Marvell Technology Group | 3.8% |
| CDW Corporation | 3.7% |
| NVR, Inc. | 3.4% |
This newsletter presents selected recommendations from portfolio managers of Argent Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Opinions reflect the portfolio manager’s judgment on the date above and are subject to change. A list of stocks recommended by Argent is available upon request. You should not assume that these recommendations are or will be profitable. In the course of it’s business, Argent’s client accounts may be buying and selling these stocks.
