Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, industrial conglomerate Emerson Electric (NYS: EMR) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

Filtration products maker Polypore International, Inc. (NYSE:PPO) reported on Tuesday that its quarterly profit missed analysts' expects as sales across all segments fell.

The table below ranks indicated dividend yields of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index by industry as of today. The yield is calculated by taking the latest declared dividend, annualized and divided by the stock price.

stock ratings Equities Research Analysts' price target changes for Monday, July 30th: Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) had its target price trimmed by Jefferies Group from $18.00 to $12.00.

Emerson Electric Co. logo Research analysts at Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) from $55.00 to $56.00 in a report released on Monday.

Emerson Nomura reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Emerson Electric (NYS: EMR) carries $10.8 billion of goodwill and other intangibles on its balance sheet. Sometimes goodwill, especially when it's excessive, can foreshadow problems down the road.

On Friday, General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) announced a 2.5 percent increase in profit from ongoing operations, exceeding Wall Street predictions, as robust demand in the United States and rising markets compensated sluggishness in Europe.

The conventional wisdom in defense and aerospace is to simply stay away as budget cuts loom. My thought is just the opposite, and I encourage to buy when fear has unreasonably discounted stocks.

By Saabira Chaudhuri. Johnson Controls Inc.'s (JCI) fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 17% as the car battery maker saw a rise in revenue along with lower expenses.