Berkshire Bank’s parent company boosts quarterly dividend by 5%

The board of directors of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB), parent of Berkshire Bank, recently voted to increase its quarterly cash dividend by 1 cent, or 5 percent, to 23 cents a common share 

The dividend will be payable on Feb. 28 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 14. At Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s current stock price, the dividend yields 3.4 percent on an annual basis. The banking company’s board also boosted its quarterly cash dividend on its preferred stock by 5 percent to 46 cents per share.

Boston–based Berkshire Hills Bancorp has $12.2 billion in total assets and 115 branches in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, providing personal and business banking, insurance, and wealth-management services. The company also offers mortgages and specialized commercial-lending services in select national markets. Berkshire has a pending agreement to acquire SI Financial Group, Inc., parent of Savings Institute Bank & Trust Company, a $1.6 billion bank with 23 branches in eastern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp reported net income of more than $105 million on revenue of more than $469 million last year. 

Berkshire Bank has $649.5 million in deposits in the Utica–Rome metro area through its 13 branches, good for a 15 percent share of all deposits in the market, according to FDIC data as of June 30, 2018. It ranks No. 3 in market share in the region. Berkshire Bank has 10 branches in Oneida County and three branches in Herkimer County.