Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) will release its first earnings report after the closing bell on Thursday, Sept. 10. The database software provider has beaten analyst revenue estimates in two straight quarters and in four of the last 10 quarters overall.

Analysts expect quarterly earnings of $1.74 per share. That’s up from $1.47 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for ORCL’s quarterly revenue is $19.14 billion. It reported $14.93 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.

With the recent buzz around Oracle, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company’s dividends. Currently, Oracle has an annual dividend yield of 1.24% — a quarterly dividend amount of 50 cents per share ($2.00 a year).

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

To generate $500 per month, or $6,000 annually, investors would need 3,000 Oracle shares based on the company’s current $2 annual dividend. At Oracle’s recent share price of about $161.63, those shares would cost roughly $484,890.

For $100 per month, or $1,200 annually, investors would need 600 shares, costing roughly $96,978 at the same share price.

The calculation is straightforward: Divide the desired annual dividend income by Oracle’s annual dividend of $2 per share. Thus, $6,000 ÷ $2 = 3,000 shares, while $1,200 ÷ $2 = 600 shares.

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

How that works: The dividend yield is computed 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 dividend payments can affect 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, the yield will too.

Oracle Price Action

Shares of Oracle fell 0.6% to close at $161.63 on Wednesday.

Ahead of quarterly earnings, Scotiabank analyst Patrick Colville, on Wednesday, maintained Oracle with a Sector Outperform rating and cut the price target from $241 to $215.

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