eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) will release earnings for its fourth quarter after the closing bell on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of $1.35 per share. That’s up from $1.25 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for eBay's quarterly revenue is $2.87 billion (it reported $2.58 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

Ahead of quarterly earnings, UBS analyst Stephen Ju, on Tuesday, maintained a Neutral rating on eBay and lowered the price target from $95 to $93.

With the recent buzz around eBay, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends too. As of now, eBay has an annual dividend yield of 1.45%, which is a quarterly dividend amount of 29 cents per share ($1.16 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 $413,501 or around 5,172 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $82,668 or around 1,034 shares.

To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($1.16 in this case). So, $6,000 / $1.16 = 5,172 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $1.16 = 1,034 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.

EBAY Price Action: Shares of eBay fell by 3% to close at $79.95 on Tuesday.

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