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

Let's take a closer look at some of the companies that inched their payouts higher this past week.

We'll start with Accenture (NYSE: ACN). The management consulting giant is raising its semi-annual cash dividend by 20%, to $0.45 a share. Revenue clocked in flat in Accenture's fiscal year ending in August, but net income improved to give the company the wiggle room to reward its investors.

MFA Financial (NYSE: MFA) is also giving its shareholders something to write home about. The REIT specializing in residential mortgages announced a quarterly payout of $0.225 a share, 18% ahead of its previous rate. If it's able to maintain that rate, investors will receive a chunky 11.6% yield.

Railroad operator CSX (NYSE: CSX) is also choo-choo-choosing to return more of its money to its shareowners. CSX's new quarterly disbursement is $0.26 a share, an 8% improvement.

Finally, we have Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) bringing down the hammer. The RV maker is now sending out $0.10 a share to its investors every three months, a whopping 43% payout increase. That's a notable move, because Thor's largest rival, Winnebago (NYSE: WGO), doesn't even pay a quarterly dividend.

It's encouraging to see companies improving their yields at a time when fixed-income investments are on the floor. These four companies join comfort-cooking chain Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (Nasdaq: CBRL) and filtration specialist CLARCOR (NYSE: CLC) in sending more of their money back to their shareowners in recent days.

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