Dividend checks continue to beef up 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 Altria (NYSE: MO). The tobacco giant is exhaling meatier dividend checks. The Marlboro man, domestically, improved its quarterly distributions by 9% to $0.38 a share. It's the second time this year that Altria's puffed up its payout -- and this move comes a week after rival Lorillard (NYSE: LO) also pumped up its dividend.

Never the teetotal, always the party, Diageo (NYSE: DEO) is also raising the glass for its shareholders. The spirits leader behind Guinness brews and Smirnoff vodka bottles is giving its disbursements a 6% boost. Distill my beating heart! What can one say about sin stocks? They put out.

G&K Services (Nasdaq: GKSR) is also suiting up nicely. The corporate uniform specialist is giving its yield a 27% upgrade, marking the fifth year in a row of hikes. Shareholders will now be receiving $0.095 a share every three months. I guess there's money in delivering freshly pressed company uniforms, as niche leader Cintas (Nasdaq: CTAS) has jacked up its rate every year since going public in 1983.

Finally we have Bob Evans (Nasdaq: BOBE) putting lipstick on sausage links. The comfort food chain is improving its quarterly distributions by 11% to $0.20 a share. It's also buying back shares, returning money to investors in two substantial ways.

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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