Altria Group (MO) will raise its quarterly dividend to $0.61 per share, marking 47 years of consecutive dividend increases. The new annualized dividend rate is $2.44 per common share, representing a yield of 3.7% based on Altria's closing stock price of $66.33 on August 19, 2016.

In its press release Altria states that 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 50 times in the past 47 years. The tobacco company is not included in the Dividend Aristocrats Index, following the earlier separation from the original Philip Morris, together with Kraft Foods (KRFT, now Kraft Heinz) and Philip Morris International (PM).

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 AB InBev, owning approximately 10.2% of the Belgium-based beer brewer.