McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, March 31. The spice and condiment company also wants to buy Unilever’s (NYSE:UL) food business.

With the recent buzz around McCormick, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends. Currently, McCormick has an annual dividend yield of 3.64%, which is a quarterly dividend amount of 48 cents per share ($1.92 a year).  

So, how can investors exploit its dividend yield to pocket a regular $500 monthly?

To earn $500 per month or $6,000 annually from dividends alone, you would need an investment of approximately $164,938 or around 3,125 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $32,988 or around 625 shares.

To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($0.72 in this case). So, $6,000 / $0.72 = 8,333 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $0.72 = 1,667 shares ($100 per month).

Note that dividend yield can change on a rolling basis, as the dividend payment and the stock price both fluctuate over time.

How that works: Compute the dividend yield by dividing the annual dividend payment by the stock’s current price.

For example, if a stock pays an annual dividend of $2 and is currently priced at $50, the dividend yield would be 4% ($2/$50). However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield drops to 3.33% ($2/$60). Conversely, if the stock price falls to $40, the dividend yield rises to 5% ($2/$40).

Similarly, changes in the dividend payment can impact the yield. If a company increases its dividend, the yield will also increase, provided the stock price stays the same. Conversely, if the dividend payment decreases, so will the yield.

MKC Price Action: Shares of McCormick rose 1.3% to close at $52.78 on Wednesday.

Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of 60 cents per share. That’s the same as the 60 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for McCormick's quarterly revenue is $1.79 billion (it reported $1.61 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

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