Rockwell Automation (ROK) will raise its quarterly dividend by another 5.4 percent to $0.97 per share in the second quarter of 2018. Earlier this year the industrial automation company already hiked its dividend to 83.5 cents per share, marking the 9th consecutive year of annual dividend increases.

The increased dividend is payable December 10, 2018 to shareowners of record at the close of business on November 12, 2018. The total dividend has been raised by 16.2 percent this year.

A new annual dividend of $3.88 per share yields 2.2% at a stock price of $172.47.

“Our Connected Enterprise strategy generates strong, sustainable cash flow,” said Blake Moret, Rockwell Automation chairman and CEO. “Over the last five fiscal years, we have returned over $5 billion of our free cash flow to shareowners through dividends and share repurchases.

“The 5 percent increase reflects our confidence in Rockwell Automation’s ability to generate cash throughout the cycle and our commitment to returning cash to shareowners while investing in the business. Since 2010, Rockwell Automation has increased its dividend by an average of 14 percent per year,” said Moret.

Rockwell Automation, Inc. is an industrial automation and information company. Its products, solutions and services reduce its customers total cost of ownership, maximize asset utilization, improve time to market and reduce enterprise business risk. Rockwell has two operating segments: Architecture & Software and Control Products & Solutions. The company continues the business founded as the AllenBradley Company in 1903. The privately-owned Allen-Bradley Company was a leading North American manufacturer of industrial automation equipment when the former Rockwell International Corporation (RIC) purchased it in 1985.