Will AT&T’s Biggest Supporters Dial Up More Shares on the Rural Expansion?

In 2012, AT&T, Inc.’s (NYSE:T) shares are up 27.22 percent. On Wednesday, Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said the company may invest in the unit that operates wirelines in rural locations as opposed to unloading it as previously considered.

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It will give detailed plans on Nov. 7.

Stephenson’s remarks came at the Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia conference in New York. He also said that AT&T is interested in purchasing a block of spectrum that rival Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) is auctioning. He also emphasized that regulatory uncertainty is slowing industry consolidation.

With plans for its wirelines in rural venues, will AT&T’s largest shareholders increase their holdings? 1548 institutional firms indicated owning shares of AT&T, Inc. (NYSE:T) in Q2 2012. These firms reported owning a total of 2.9 billion shares on 06/30/2012. The shares closed at $35.22 on 06/30/2012.

Here are the ten largest positions in AT&T, Inc. at the end of June 30th, 2012.

Vanguard Group Inc held 250,930,771 shares on 06/30/2012 worth $8,948,191,256. This brought the portfolio total to 1.22%.

State Street Corp held 237,278,062 shares on 06/30/2012 worth $8,461,335,655. This brought the portfolio total to 1.34%.

Capital Research Global Investors held 154,941,430 shares on 06/30/2012 worth $5,525,211,370. This brought the portfolio total to 2.51%.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp held 94,354,731 shares on 06/30/2012 worth $3,364,689,693. This brought the portfolio total to 1.3%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc /MD/ held 82,149,822 shares on 06/30/2012 worth $2,929,462,640. This brought the portfolio total to 0.92%.

Wellington Management Co LLP held 81,488,625 shares on 06/30/2012 worth $2,905,884,355. This brought the portfolio total to 1.08%.

Northern Trust Corp held 79,150,692 shares on 06/30/2012 worth $2,822,513,665. This brought the portfolio total to 1.25%.

Capital World Investors held 65,005,021 shares on 06/30/2012 worth $2,318,079,039. This brought the portfolio total to 0.87%.

Blackrock Fund Advisors held 52,555,370 shares on 06/30/2012 worth $1,874,124,486. This brought the portfolio total to 0.95%.

Blackrock Group Ltd held 43,592,085 shares on 06/30/2012 worth $1,554,493,744. This brought the portfolio total to 1.37%.

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