Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) will release earnings results for the second quarter before the opening bell on Wednesday, July 16.

Analysts expect the New York-based investment bank to report quarterly earnings at $2.01 per share. That’s up from $1.82 per share in the year-ago period. Morgan Stanley also projects to report quarterly revenue of $16.04 billion. Compare that to the $15.02 billion it earned the previous year, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

On July 8, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, through investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, agreed to sell its ownership stake in TigerGenCo Red Oak Holdings, LLC to funds managed by Strategic Value Partners.

With the recent buzz around Morgan Stanley, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends too. As of now, Morgan Stanley offers an annual dividend yield of 2.57%, which is a semi-annual dividend amount of 93 cents per share ($3.70 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 $233,519 or around 1,622 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $46,646 or around 324 shares.

To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($3.70 in this case). So, $6,000 / $3.70 = 1,622 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $3.70 = 324 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: 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 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.

MS Price Action: Shares of Morgan Stanley gained 1.2% to close at $143.97 on Monday.

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