The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) is set to report third-quarter earnings before the opening bell on Tuesday, and there's more than just the earnings numbers catching investor attention right now.

Wall Street analysts are projecting earnings of $3.83 per share for the quarter, up from $3.67 per share in the same period last year. Revenue estimates come in at $41.12 billion, compared to $40.22 billion a year earlier.

The backdrop got a bit more complicated on Friday when Stifel analyst W. Andrew Carter downgraded Home Depot from Buy to Hold, simultaneously cutting the price target from $440 down to $370. That's the kind of move that gets people's attention.

But here's where things get interesting for income-focused investors. With all the chatter around Home Depot, some folks are looking beyond share price appreciation and eyeing the company's dividend stream instead. Right now, Home Depot offers an annual dividend yield of 2.54%, which translates to $2.30 per share every quarter, or $9.20 annually.

So let's run the numbers on what it would actually take to generate meaningful monthly income from these dividends.

To pocket $500 per month (that's $6,000 annually) from dividends alone, you'd need to invest approximately $236,259, or around 652 shares. Want something more modest? For $100 monthly ($1,200 yearly), you're looking at $47,107, or roughly 130 shares.

The math is straightforward: Take your desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) and divide it by the annual dividend payment ($9.20). So $6,000 divided by $9.20 equals 652 shares for the $500 monthly goal, while $1,200 divided by $9.20 gets you 130 shares for the $100 monthly target.

Now, here's the thing about dividend yields—they're not static. Both the dividend payment and the stock price fluctuate over time, which means the yield moves around too.

Understanding the mechanics: Dividend yield is calculated by dividing the annual dividend payment by the current stock price.

Here's a simple example. If a stock pays $2 annually in dividends and trades at $50, you've got a 4% yield ($2 divided by $50). But if that stock price climbs to $60, the yield drops to 3.33% ($2 divided by $60). Flip it around—if the price falls to $40, the yield jumps to 5% ($2 divided by $40).

Changes in the actual dividend payment matter too. When a company increases its dividend while the stock price holds steady, the yield goes up. Cut the dividend, and the yield falls with it.

HD Price Action: Shares of Home Depot dropped 1.6% to close at $362.36 on Friday.