Who owns most of AT&T?
Leading worldwide in telecommunication services, AT&T Inc. is also a major contributor to fixed phone service availability in the United States of America. AT&T Internet investors include institutional investors, mutual funds, pension funds, and individual investors, the same as any other publicly traded company. Among the main owners of AT&T shares are some of these.
- The Vanguard Group – The Vanguard Group is the biggest shareholder of AT&T as it owns more than 6% of its share directly. This is an investment management company. Vanguard has several ETFs and mutual funds specifically targeted at AT&T shares.
- BlackRock Inc. – With about 5% of AT&T's shares in its investment funds and ETFs held, BlackRock Inc. is the biggest asset management company. BlackRock is among the biggest institutional investors worldwide, so keep in mind.
- State Street Corp – Another massive investment-managing company with about 4% AT&T shares on its balance sheet is State Street Corp State Street primarily provides fund management and other associated services targeted at institutional investors.
- Geode Capital Management - Through the funds and portfolios under its control, Geode Capital Control, an institutional investing organization, also holds around 4% of AT&T shares. Well-known as one of the biggest worldwide asset managers serving institutional customers and high investment budgets is Geode.
- Newport Trust Co – Having invested in over 3.5% of AT&T shares, Newport Trust Co. is a trust and investment business focused on high-net-worth individuals and families. Established to safeguard the rich Pritzker family's interests in Chicago, this American firm serves this purpose.
- Wellington Management Group – The independently owned investment management agency that is Wellington owns slightly more than 3% of AT&T stock in the funds and accounts managed by the company. Among its clients, it has over 3000 clients in over 60 locations worldwide.
Although mutual and pension fund investors own large shares in the company, most AT&T shares are still floaters among numerous small investors. Institutional investors own 64% of shares while individual investors own 36% of the outstanding shares as mentioned in the AT&T 2022 annual proxy statement on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
This wide range of owners indicates that many investors believe AT&T stock is a good long-term investment in their portfolios. Even more, large fund companies’ shares like Vanguard and BlackRock indicate that major institutional shareholders expect AT&T to maintain its strong dividends per share in the future.
AT&T made a big transformative acquisition in 2022 that let WarnerMedia join Discovery to become the new Warner Bros. Discovery. For AT&T, which utilized the nearly $40 billion in cash it acquired to pay down debt and reinterpret itself as a telecom-oriented connection provider moving forward, this purchase was very cash-generative.
The transaction was meant to transform AT&T into a more focused and easily understandable telecommunications company that would mainly offer wireless phone service, home Internet, and pay-TV subscription services in the United States. Thus, by leaving the dynamic and highly competitive media business, AT&T expects to simplify management’s work and allocate company resources to improving and developing its connectivity services and 5G networks across the United States in the future years.
This is a clear indication that the nature of the ownership of the company after the transaction is similar to any conventional cross-section of index funds, pension plans, asset managers, and retail investors that are likely to own stakes in any US-based blue chip company. Paying dividends as a form of shareholder returns also remains relevant for the company’s future development in AT&T.
No single person or company has direct management authority for AT&T anymore; however, the thousands of institutional and retail shareholders in AT&T collectively dictate the governance and management of this telecom titan with an annual revenue of over $150 billion in 2023 thus far. Management of AT&T continues to value every shareholder’s interests and long-term investors are concerned with sustainable cash flows that will support those dividends in the future.