Territorial Savings Bank increased its quarterly dividend for the sixth time in just more than two years even as net income slipped 4.9 percent in the January-March period.

The state’s fifth-largest bank said Thursday its earnings fell to $3.5 million, or 37 cents a share,  from $3.6 million, or 36 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter primarily due to decreases in both loan and investment securities sales.

But the board of holding company Territorial Bancorp Inc. approved the company’s 17th consecutive quarterly dividend in raising the payout to 15 cents a share from 14 cents a share. It will be payable May 29 to stockholders of record as of May 15. That equates to an annualized yield of 2.92 percent based on Thursday’s closing price of $20.55.

“We continue to focus on improving long-term shareholder returns and the effective utilization of our capital,” Territorial Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Allan Kitagawa said.

Territorial also has been buying back stock and completed its fifth stock repurchase program in February.

“As a result, we returned 151 percent of our first quarter’s net income back to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases,” Kitagawa said.

Since March 1, 2012, Territorial has raised its dividend six times and also paid two special dividends of 10 cents a share each.