A study of analyst recommendations at the major brokerages shows that 3M Co (MMM) is the #27 broker pick, on average, out of the 30 stocks making up the Dow Jones Industrial Average, according to ETF Channel. Within the broader S&P 500, when components were ranked in terms of analyst favorites, MMM claims the #408 spot.In forming this rank, the analyst opinions from the major brokerage houses were tallied, and averaged; then, the underlying components were ranked according to those averages. Investors often interpret analyst opinions from different angles — when companies have a low rank among analysts, it isn't necessarily the case that investors should conclude that the stock will perform poorly. It can, of course, but a bullish investor could also take the contrarian angle and read into the data that there is lots of room for upside because the stock is so out of favor. For these reasons, we at ETF Channel find value to putting together these rankings, because both the top and the bottom ends of the list can often make for some interesting stock picking ideas for further research. Below is a chart of rank over time: According to the ETF Finder at ETF Channel, MMM makes up 6.64% of the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) which is trading higher by about 0.8% on the day Thursday. MMM operates in the Medical Instruments & Supplies sector, among companies like Medtronic PLC (MDT) which is up about 0.6% today, and Abbott Laboratories (ABT) trading up by about 1%. Below is a three month price history chart comparing the stock performance of MMM, versus MDT and ABT. MMM is currently trading up about 0.8% midday Thursday.