Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) will release earnings results for its third quarter after the closing bell on Thursday, Aug. 1.

Meanwhile, some investors are eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends.

The Cupertino, California-based company currently has a dividend yield of 0.45%, which is a quarterly dividend amount of 25 cents a share ($1.00 a year).

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

Next, we take this amount and divide it by Apple's $1.00 dividend: $6,000 / $1.00 = 6,000 shares

So, an investor would need to own approximately $1,332,480 worth of Apple, or 6,000 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 / $1.00 = 1,200 shares, or $266,496 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.

AAPL Price Action: Shares of Apple rose 1.5% to close at $222.08 on Wednesday.

Analysts expect Apple to report quarterly earnings at $1.35 per share, up from $1.18 per share in the year-ago period. The company is projected to post revenue of $84.53 billion, compared to $76.41 billion a year earlier.

On Thursday, analysts will also be looking at Apple's streaming results and its ability to balance ad-free plans with ad-supported plans. Apple is one of the newer companies in the streaming space and could soon be launching an ad-supported plan.

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