Lithia Motors' board has raised the auto retailer's quarterly dividend by 23%, to 70 cents from 57 cents.

The new payout, equal to $2.80 a year, represents an annual yield of about 0.69% based on Wednesday morning's trading price of $408.41, up from 0.56%.

The Medford, Ore., company, said the increased dividend is payable Aug. 21 to shareholders of record Aug. 7.