FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) will release earnings for its second quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, March 31.

Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of $4.37 per share. That’s up from $4.28 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for FactSet Research' quarterly revenue is $604.8 million (it reported $570.66 million last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

Ahead of quarterly earnings, RBC Capital analyst Ashish Sabadra, on March 18, maintained FactSet Research with a Sector Perform and lowered the price target from $320 to $243.

With the recent buzz around FactSet Research, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends too. As of now, FactSet Research has an annual dividend yield of 2.24%, which is a quarterly dividend amount of $1.10 per share ($4.40 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 $268,301 or around 1,367 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $53,582 or around 273 shares.

To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($4.40 in this case). So, $6,000 / $4.40 = 1,367 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $4.40 = 273 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.

FDS Price Action: Shares of FactSet Research rose 1.2% to close at $196.27 on Thursday.

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