Altria Group Inc. MO, -2.12% said Thursday it will raise its quarterly dividend by 6.1%, to 70 cents a share from 66 cents a share. The tobacco products company said the new dividend will be payable April 10 to shareholders of record on March 15. Based on current price of Altria's stock, which was down 0.1% at $62.88 in midday trade, the new annual dividend rate of $2.80 would imply a dividend yield of 4.45%. The S&P 500's implied dividend yield is 1.91%, according to FactSet. Altria said this marks the 52 increase in its dividend in the past 49 years. The stock has shed 8.4% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.5%.