Weekly Investor – December 28, 2020
S&P Moves Slightly Lower
The S&P 500® Index fell slightly during the holiday-shortened week as investors weighed a likely stimulus deal against a new variant of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom. Financials and Information Technology were the best performing sectors for the week. Banks gained after results from the latest stress test were released. In an unexpected move, the Federal Reserve allowed profitable banks to resume their share buybacks. Shortly after that pronouncement from the Fed, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced a $30 billion share buyback. Technology stocks moved higher on news that Apple, Inc. is entering into the self-driving car market. In addition, cybersecurity stocks surged due to the widespread Russian hack. Tesla, Inc. entered the S&P 500 during the week, coming in as the 6th largest stock in the index. Shares of the electric vehicle maker have had a huge run, gaining 730% for the year and 70% since the announcement of inclusion on November 16th.
The S&P 500 Index was down 0.2% for the week. Its top-performing sectors were Financials (1.9%) and Technology (0.8%), while the bottom-performing sectors were Consumer Staples (-1.2%) and Energy (-2.0%). In the fixed-income market, the 10-year Treasury yield was down, ending at 0.9%.
We continue to seek companies that reflect our Change-BasedSM investment approach.
Change Based Investment
United Rentals, Inc. is the world’s largest equipment rental company. The company rents industrial equipment such as trucks, forklifts, earth movers and homeowner equipment to industrial companies, utilities, municipalities and individuals. In addition to rentals, the company offers new and used equipment sales, servicing and safety training.
United Rentals is a dominant player in the industrial equipment rental market. The company is driving change with a new CEO who has implemented growth and profitability initiatives. Concerns over an economic slowdown from COVID-19 have impacted the company’s near-term operations. However, given its positive long-term outlook, we believe United Rentals is a good fit for Argent’s Large Cap strategy.
Top 5 Equity Holdings
Large Cap Growth
| Apple, Inc. | 7.0% |
| Alphabet, Inc.(Google) | 6.4% |
| Target Corporation | 5.9% |
| Mastercard Incorporated | 5.1% |
| Danaher Corporation | 5.1% |
Small Cap Core
| Medpace Holdings, Inc. | 4.0% |
| OneMain Holdings, Inc. | 3.7% |
| Fortinet, Inc. | 3.4% |
| PetIQ, Inc. | 3.2% |
| Envestnet, Inc. | 2.9% |
Dividend Select
| Target Corporation | 6.8% |
| Microsoft Corporation | 5.8% |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 5.2% |
| Eaton Corporation Plc | 3.8% |
| Comcast Corporation | 3.7% |
Mid Cap
| NVIDIA Corporation | 4.9% |
| Cintas Corporation | 4.0% |
| Marvell Technology Group | 3.8% |
| Zebra Technologies Corp. | 3.7% |
| Nuance Communications | 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.
