Altria’s Dividend Is Smoking Hot
- August 27, 2010
- Dividend Investing, Dividend News, Dividend Stocks, High Yield Dividend Stocks, Top Dividend Stocks
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Altria Group (MO: 28.84 +1.05%) today announced that the company will increase their quarterly dividend by 9% to $.38 per share.
This marks the second dividend increase in 2010 from Altria. The cigarette maker had inched their dividend higher by $.01 back in February. After combining both dividend increases, Altria has raised their dividend by nearly 12% in 2010.
Following the dividend increase, MO shares will yield 6.7% based on yesterday’s closing price.
Although socially-conscious investors generally shun Altria stock, due to the power of 7% dividend yields you could double your investment in 10 years even if the stock price doesn’t increase at all.
The dividend will be payable on October 12, 2010 to shareholders of record as of September 15, 2010. The ex-dividend date is September 13, 2010.
The dividend announcement reflects Altria’s intention to return a large amount of their cash to shareholders in the form of dividends. It is also consistent with the company’s dividend payout ratio target of approximately 80% of its adjusted diluted earnings per share.
Altria’s stock price has jumped nearly 15% in 2010, while the S&P 500 has declined nearly 6%.
