By Timothy S. Donahue
Top Takeaways:
- Dividend boost: Altria raised its quarterly dividend to $1.11 per share.
- Annual payout: The new annualized rate is $4.44 per share.
- Long streak: It marks Altria’s 61st dividend increase in 57 years.
Altria is giving shareholders a little more to smoke about.
Altria Group’s board increased the company’s regular quarterly dividend by 4.7% to $1.11 per share, up from $1.06, continuing one of the tobacco industry’s longest dividend-growth streaks.
The dividend is payable on Oct. 9 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 15.
The increase raises Altria’s annualized dividend rate to $4.44 per share. Based on the company’s Aug. 26 closing stock price of $69.12, the dividend yield is 6.4%.
The increase aligns with Altria’s progressive dividend goal, which targets mid-single-digit annual dividend-per-share growth through 2028. The dividend target is part of the company’s broader 2028 financial goals, which also include mid-single-digit adjusted diluted earnings-per-share growth and a debt-to-consolidated EBITDA ratio of approximately 2.0 times.
The latest increase marks Altria’s 61st dividend hike in the past 57 years.
Altria most recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share in May, payable on July 10. Future dividend payments remain subject to the company’s board’s discretion.
