Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) will release its third quarter earnings report before the opening bell on Thursday, Oct. 22.

Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of $7.52 per share, up from $6.95 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for LMT’s quarterly revenue is $20.46 billion. It reported $18.61 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.

RBC Capital analyst Ken Herbert maintained a Sector Perform rating on Lockheed Martin on Oct. 15 and slashed the price target from $600 to $550.

With the recent buzz around Lockheed Martin, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company’s dividends too. As of now, LMT has an annual dividend yield of 2.62%, which is a quarterly dividend amount of $3.60 per share ($14.40 a year).

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

Next, we take this amount and divide it by LMT’s $14.40 dividend: $6,000 / $14.40 = 417 shares.

So, an investor would need to own approximately $228,812 worth of Lockheed Martin, or 417 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 / $14.40 = 83 shares, or $45,543 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.

LMT Price Action: Shares of Lockheed Martin gained 0.1% to close at $548.71 on Tuesday.

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