Dividends on (CTL) (FL) (FRME) (HBHC) (HBOS) Declared

CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE:CTL), Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE:FL), First Merchants Corp (NASDAQ:FRME), Hancock Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:HBHC) and Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HBOS) declare dividends.

The Board of Directors of CenturyLink, Inc. (CTL) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.725 per share payable 6/16/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/6/11.

The Board of Directors of Foot Locker Inc. (FL) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.165 per share payable 7/29/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 7/15/11.

The Board of Directors of First Merchants Corp (NASDAQ:FRME) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.01 per share payable 6/20/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/6/11.

The Board of Directors of Hancock Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:HBHC) declared a second quarter common stock dividend of $0.24 per share payable 6/15/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/6/11.

The Board of Directors of Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HBOS) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.03 per share payable 6/24/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/10/11.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF), First Horizon (NYSE:FHN), SunTrust Banks (NYSE:STI), Zions (Nasdaq:ZION), Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq:FITB) Up on M&A Activity

Investors have been drawn to regional banks, as merger-and-acquisition activity in the sector has attracted the interest of investors and pushed up the share prices of banks like Regions Financial (NYSE:RF), First Horizon (NYSE:FHN), SunTrust Banks (NYSE:STI), Zions (Nasdaq:ZION) and Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq:FITB).

Recent M&A deals stirring up interest include Hancock Holding's (Nasdaq:HBHC) announcement it was going to acquire Whitney Holding (Nasdaq:WTNY) for about $1.5 billion. Whitney surged to close Wednesday at $14.00, up $3.13, or 28.79 percent.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:BHLB) said it was going to acquire Legacy Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:LEGC) for $110 million. Legacy soared to close Wednesday at $12.65, gaining $4.05, or 47.09 percent.

These followed on the announcement by the Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) they were going to acquire Marshall & Ilsley for $4.1 billion.

Regions Financial closed Wednesday at $6.91, up $0.46, or 7.13 percent. First Horizon closed the session at $11.75, up $0.47, or 4.17 percent. SunTrust Banks closed at $28.85, gaining $0.99, or 3.55 percent. Zions Bancorporation closed at $23.68, up $0.66, or 2.87 percent. Fifth Third Bancorp closed the day at $14.71, up $0.41, or 2.87 percent.