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 these past few days.

We can start with Starbucks (SBUX 0.89%). The baron of baristas came through with a strong quarter of better-than-expected financials and an upbeat guidance for fiscal 2013 that was revised higher. Why wouldn't it caffeinate its yield? Starbucks is sweetening its quarterly rate 24% to $0.21 a share.

Macquarie Infrastructure Company (MIC) was more "treat" than "trick" on Halloween. Free cash flow may have taken a step back in its latest quarter, but Macquarie is still jacking up its quarterly distributions 10% to $0.6875 a share. Macquarie's businesses include a gas processing and distribution business, a controlling interest in a district energy business, and a 50% stake in a bulk liquid-storage terminal business. Macquarie also owns a provider of aviation-related airport services.

CEC Entertainment (CEC.DL) is the parent company behind the Chuck E. Cheese kid-friendly arcade chain. Kids flock to the gaming haven for parties, and parents love that the games cost a single token. Shareholders can also appreciate more bang for their tokens, and now CEC is coming through with a 9% boost to its payouts. Investors will now be receiving $0.24 a share every three months.

Finally, we have j2 Global (ZD -1.38%) coming through. The provider of Internet fax, email, and voice solutions is bumping its quarterly payouts 2% higher to $0.225 a share. It may not seem like much, but j2's board has now come through with five consecutive quarters of increases. Over the past year, j2's disbursements have actually grown by nearly 13%.

Checks and balances
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. A 30-day trial subscription will let you see if it's right for you.