Altria raises dividend for second time in 2018
Earlier this year MO already raised its dividend to $0.70 per share quarterly, marking the 49th consecutive year of dividend increases.
The quarterly dividend is payable on October 10, 2018, to shareholders of record as of September 14, 2018. The ex-dividend date is September 13, 2018.
The new annualized dividend rate is $3.20 per common share, representing a yield of 5.2% based on Altria’s closing stock price of $61.00 on August 17, 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 53 times in the past 49 years.
Earlier this month fellow Dividend Aristocrat Illinois Tool Works raised its dividend for 47th consecutive year. Including the prior dividend hike by MO this year the total dividend is up more than 20 percent in 2018.
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. (Ste. Michelle) 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.
