Altria Group, Inc. (MO) will increase its regular quarterly dividend by 6.1 percent to $0.70 per common share in the first quarter of 2018. The new dividend yield for Dividend Aristocrat MO is 4.2%.

The quarterly dividend is payable on April 10, 2018, to shareholders of record as of March 15, 2018. The ex-dividend date is March 14, 2018.

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 52 times in the past 49 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.