Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) will release earnings for its second quarter after the closing bell on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of $3.27 per share, up from $2.91 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Salesforce’s quarterly revenue is $11.32 billion. It reported $10.24 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.

The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in two straight quarters and in seven of the last 10 quarters overall.

With the recent buzz around Salesforce, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company’s dividends too. Currently, Salesforce has an annual dividend yield of 0.86%, which is a quarterly dividend amount of 44 cents per share ($1.76 a year).

To figure out how to earn $500 monthly from Salesforce, we start with the yearly target of $6,000 ($500 x 12 months).

Next, we divide this amount by Salesfore’s $1.76 dividend: $6,000 / $1.76 = 3,409 shares.

So, an investor would need to own approximately $701,197 worth of Salesforce, or 3,409 shares to generate a monthly dividend income of $500.

Assuming a more conservative goal of $100 monthly ($1,200 annually), we do the same calculation: $1,200 / $1.76 = 682 shares, or $140,281 to generate a monthly dividend income of $100.

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

The dividend yield is calculated by dividing the annual dividend payment by the current stock price. As the stock price changes, the dividend yield will also change.

For example, if a stock pays an annual dividend of $2 and its current price is $50, its dividend yield would be 4%. However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield would decrease to 3.33% ($2/$60).

Conversely, if the stock price decreases to $40, the dividend yield would increase to 5% ($2/$40).

Further, the dividend payment itself can also change over time, which can also impact the dividend yield. If a company increases its dividend payment, the dividend yield will increase even if the stock price remains the same. Similarly, if a company decreases its dividend payment, the dividend yield will decrease.

CRM Price Action: Shares of Salesforce fell by 1.6% to close at $205.69 on Tuesday.

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