Top Stocks With Insider Buying, Buybacks

03/27/08 - 11:08 AM EDT

AAPL (The Telecom Connection PICK) AMT BIDU JPM NYX QCOM RIMM

James Altucher

Adding to the case for American Tower is that Martin Sosnoff, of Atalanta Sosnoff Capital, is invested in the stock. The $5 billion private investment company also recently bought shares of General Dynamics GD and Medtronic MDT .

Another reason we like American Tower's stock is because D.E. Shaw Group believes in the company. The $50 billion firm also holds shares of Apple AAPL and Caterpillar CAT.

So with American Tower, we have a buyback, a reaffirmed 2008 outlook and two well-known investors in the stock. That makes American Tower a stock worth considering.

And finally, we have NYSE Euronext NYX making this week's list. The stock-market operator last week said it will repurchase up to $1 billion in common stock.

On top of the buyback, the company also increased its annual dividend 20% to $1.20 from $1 a share, in an effort to reach its target dividend payout ratio of 35% to 45% of net income.

NYSE further announced solid fourth-quarter results that showed adjusted profit had climbed 39% to $175 million, or 66 cents a share, which was in line with analyst forecasts. Most of the growth is due to the acquisition of Euronext, the European market operator, but additional strength came from record transaction volumes. Total revenue for the period rocketed 79% to $1.18 billion.

It's also good to see that Third Point is invested in NYSE shares. This $5.5 billion hedge fund's other recent investments are Plains Exploration & Production Company PXP and packaging company MeadWestvaco .

Another notable fund that likes NYSE stock is Atticus Capital. Founded in 1995 by Timothy Barakett, this firm also expects future gains in Baidu.com BIDU and Research In Motion RIMM.

So with NYSE Euronext we have a buyback, increased dividends, substantial earnings growth and highly regarded investors into the stock. That's a solid foundation on which to take a harder look at NYSE Euronext.

For more stocks and analysis, check out this week's Top 10 Insider Purchases and Buybacks at Stockpickr.com.

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