NBT Bancorp (NBTB) will raise its quarterly dividend by 8.7 percent to $0.25 per share in the second quarter of 2018. It's the first dividend hike since 2016, when the quarterly dividend was increased by 4.5 percent.

The dividend, which represents a $0.02 or 8.7% increase, will be paid on June 15, 2018 to shareholders of record as of June 1, 2018. NBT President and Chief Executive Officer John H. Watt, Jr. said, “NBT has a long and consistent history of returning capital to our shareholders in the form of cash dividends. We’re pleased to provide shareholders with this increase to our dividend which will be NBT’s 505th dividend in our 162-year history.”

NBT Bancorp Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Norwich, N.Y. The Company primarily operates through NBT Bank, N.A., a full-service community bank and through two financial services companies. NBT Bank, N.A. has banking locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. EPIC Advisors, Inc., based in Rochester, N.Y., is a full-service 401(k) plan recordkeeping firm. NBT Insurance Agency, LLC, based in Norwich, N.Y., is a full-service insurance agency.