DeWITT, N.Y. — Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) announced that it has declared a quarterly dividend of 32 cents per share on its common stock
The dividend will be payable on Jan. 10 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 15. It represents an annualized yield of nearly 2.4 percent, based on the company’s current stock price.
The latest dividend is the same amount as the one Community Bank paid last quarter when it hiked its dividend by a penny.
The DeWitt–based banking company’s stock price has increased more than 37 percent year to date.
Community Bank System operates more than 200 branches across upstate New York and Northeastern Pennsylvania through its banking subsidiary, Community Bank, N.A. It currently has total assets of about $8.7 billion.
Community Bank expects to surpass the $10 billion asset mark next year when it closes on its pending acquisition of Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBVT), the largest statewide independent bank in Vermont, in a cash and stock transaction worth about $304 million. Merchants Bancshares, parent company of Merchants Bank, has total assets of nearly $1.9 billion. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017.
Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com