Dividend checks continue to get fatter in Corporate America, as more companies jack up their distribution rates.

Readers of the Income Investor newsletter can certainly appreciate that kind of thinking. Let's take a closer look at some of the companies that inched their payouts higher this past week.

Let's start with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). Investors may have their concerns with the drug giant's pipeline, but a steady flow of healthy distributions may be just what the doctor prescribed until it lands its next blockbuster treatment. Pfizer's new quarterly rate is getting an 11% upgrade to $0.20 a share.

Big Pharma has become the home to Big Payouts in recent years. Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), and Merck (NYSE: MRK) join Pfizer in generating yields of greater than 4% for their shareowners.

CSC (NYSE: CSC) is also computing a chunkier disbursement. The IT services provider that is probably better known as Computer Sciences is jacking up its quarterly disbursements by 33%. Shareholders will now be receiving $0.15 a share every three months.

Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE: AEM) shareholders are hitting the mother lode. The Canadian gold miner is more than tripling its dividend, shifting to a quarterly payout schedule of $0.16 a share in the process. The way that gold prices have been spiking over the past couple of years, it's surprising that other miners aren't striking similar hikes.

Finally, we have Waste Management (NYSE: WM) bringing home the bacon as it takes out the trash. The garbage hauler's new quarterly rate of $0.34 a share is an 8% improvement. Waste Management has now lifted its payouts in each of the past four years.

Subscribers to the Income Investor newsletter can appreciate the companies sending more and more money to their investors. The newsletter singles out companies that are committed to growing their distributions with market-thumping results.

Want to see what is being recommended these days? Go ahead and give the newsletter service a shot with a 30-day trial subscription. Who knows? Maybe the next thing that will get hiked will be your interest.

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