Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) shares settled lower on Monday after new data showed that Apple ( AAPL ) smartphone shipments fell approximately 10% in the first quarter.

Research firm IDC reported on Sunday that Samsung has overtaken Apple ( AAPL ) as the top global phone maker with 20.8% market share, per Reuters. The report indicates that Apple's ( AAPL ) market share fell to 17.3% in the first quarter after sales dropped by about 10%, while global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% to 289.4 million.

Apple ( AAPL ) is expected to release earnings results for its second quarter on May 2, 2024. Analysts expect the iPhone maker to report quarterly earnings at $1.51 per share on revenue of $90.52 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

With the recent buzz around Apple ( AAPL ), some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends too. As of now, Apple ( AAPL ) offers an annual dividend yield of 0.56%, which is a quarterly dividend amount of 24 cents per share (96 cents 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 $1,079,313 or around 6,250 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $215,863 or around 1,250 shares.

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To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($0.96 in this case). So, $6,000 / $0.96 = 6,250 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $0.96 = 1,250 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.

AAPL Price Action: Shares of Apple ( AAPL ) fell 2.2% to close at $172.69 on Monday.

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