Altria the U.S. maker of Marlboro cigarettes, boosted its quarterly dividend by 4.1% to $1.02, marking the 55th straight year of dividend increases, the company said Thursday. Altria, whose shares were little changed Thursday at $51.83 after hitting a new 52-week high of $51.94, now yields 7.9%, one of the highest dividend rates in the index. Altria has long taken its dividend seriously, paying out about 80% of its earnings to shareholders.