Parker Hannifin Corporation (PH) will increase its quarterly dividend by 15.8 percent to $0.88 per share in the second quarter of 2019. This follows a 15.2 percent dividend hike last year by the motion and controls technology company.

The next dividend is payable June 7, 2019 to shareholders of record as of May 10, 2019. The new annualized dividend rate of $3.52 per share yields 1.9% at a stock price of $183.

"This increase in Parker’s quarterly dividend reflects the Board’s confidence in our ability to consistently generate strong free cash flow,” said Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration & CFO Cathy Suever.  “Our performance gives us the financial flexibility to return value to our shareholders in the form of our long-standing record of increasing our annual dividend payout every year for the last 63 fiscal years.”

Parker Hannifin Corporation is a manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision engineered solutions for a range of mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. The company has two reporting segments: Diversified Industrial and Aerospace Systems. Parker Hannifin was incorporated in Ohio in 1938. Arthur L. Parker founded the Parker Appliance Company on March 13, 1917, in a small loft in Cleveland, Ohio, along with his business partner, Carl Klamm. In the early days, the company built pneumatic brake systems for trucks, trains, buses and industrial machinery, as well as leak-free fittings for the pioneers of aviation.