Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares closed higher during Wednesday's session amid overall strength in the stock market.

Verizon is scheduled to report first-quarter 2024 earnings before the opening bell on April 22, 2024. Analysts expect the New York-based company to report quarterly earnings at $1.12 per share, down from $1.20 per share in the year-ago period. The company is projected to post revenue of $33.33 billion, up from $32.91 billion in the year-earlier quarter, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

On March 22, Redburn Atlantic analyst Steve Malcolm upgraded Verizon Communications from Sell to Neutral and announced a $39 price target.

With the recent buzz around Verizon, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends. As of now, Verizon has a dividend yield of 6.40%, which is a quarterly dividend amount of 66.5 cents a share ($2.66 a year).

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

Next, we take this amount and divide it by Verizon's $2.66 dividend: $6,000 / $2.66 = 2,256 shares

So, an investor would need to own approximately $93,714 worth of Verizon, or 2,256 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 / $2.66 = 451 shares, or $18,735 to generate a monthly dividend income of $100.

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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.

VZ Price Action: Shares of Verizon gained 1.7% to close at $41.54 on Wednesday.

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