These Are Intermede Partners’ Top Stock Picks Following Buying Spree

#4 Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA)

– Shares Owned by Intermede Investment Partners (as of March 31): 446,054

– Value of Holding (as of March 31): $42.15 million

After a multi-year rally that resulted in its stock appreciating by over 500% Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) finally took a breather at the start of 2016, which provided several investors including Intermede Investment Partners an opportunity to initiate or up their stakes in the company. During the first quarter, the fund increased its holding in the payment solutions provider by 41%. On April 28, the company reported its fiscal 2016 first-quarter numbers, declaring EPS of $0.86 on revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter versus analysts’ expectations of EPS of $0.85 on revenue of $2.38 billion. Along with the earnings, the company also revealed that it bought back 15 million shares during the first quarter for $1.4 billion and so far in the second quarter it has bought back 3 million more shares at a cost of nearly $288 million. Accounting for these buybacks, Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) has still $2.9 billion left under its current repurchase program authorization. Following the earnings release, on the same day, analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their ‘Buy’ rating on the stock. Among the hedge funds that reduced their stakes in Mastercard Inc  during the first quarter was Murray Stahl‘s Horizon Asset Management, which brought its holding down by 10% to 90,656 shares.

#3 ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS)

– Shares Owned by Intermede Investment Partners (as of March 31): 499,990

– Value of Holding (as of March 31): $44.73 million

Moving on, Intermede Investment Partners  increased its stake in ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) by 42% during the quarter ending March 31. Shares of the engineering simulation software maker have been trading in a range for the past one year and have lost over 7% year-to-date. However, most analysts are optimistic about the long-term prospects of the company, citing the niche sector that the company operates in and the competitive advantages it enjoys over its peers. ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) posted a net income of $0.77 per share on revenue of $225.90 million for the first quarter, compared to analysts’ projections of EPS of $0.76 on revenue of $228.51 million. For the same quarter of the previous year, the company had reported EPS of $0.77 on revenue of $218.37 million. On March 15, analysts at Berenberg Bank reiterated their ‘Hold’ rating and $94 price target on ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS)’s stock. Billionaire Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management also increased its stake in the company during the January-March period, by 10% to 46,506 shares.