Dividend Aristocrat Altria (MO) will  hike its quarterly dividend by 8.3 percent from $0.48 to $0.52 per share. The new annualized dividend rate is $2.08 per common share, representing a yield of 4.9% based on Altria's closing stock price of $42.46 on August 20, 2014.

Today's dividend increase reflects Altria's intention to return a large amount of cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and is consistent with Altria's dividend payout ratio target of approximately 80% of its adjusted diluted earnings per share. Altria has increased its dividend 48 times in the last 45 years.

Altria Group, Inc. is a holding company. Altria’s wholly-owned subsidiaries include Philip Morris USA Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company LLC, John Middleton Co., Nu Mark LLC, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Ltd. and Philip Morris Capital Corporation. Altria's tobacco brands include Marlboro, Black & Mild, Copenhagen, Skoal, MarkTen and Green Smoke. Altria also holds an equity investment in brewer SAB-Miller.