The studies are showing that activists “are a bit more disciplined and a bit more patient than the perception,” said Chris Ruggeri, M&A services leader at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP.

That perception stems from their lineage back to the so- called corporate raiders of the 1980s, who were seen as “barbarians climbing up the walls of the fort and to be deflected at all costs,” Ruggeri said.

While corporate raiders, including Icahn, were known for launching hostile bids to take control of companies, activists take smaller stakes, agitating for changes that will boost shareholder value.

One of the biggest winners of recent activism were shareholders of Fortune Brands Inc. Their money doubled after Ackman, who runs New York-based Pershing Square Capital Management LP, pushed to break up the company starting in October 2010.

Pepsi Strategy

Ackman’s campaign at Fortune led the company to sell its golf unit and split the rest into two publicly traded companies, Beam Inc., a bourbon producer, and Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc., a manufacturer of kitchen cabinets and door locks. Beam announced in January that it’s being acquired by Suntory Holdings Ltd. for about $16 billion, meaning that the reward to shareholders will be even larger.

Some activists including Trian Fund Management LP, Relational and ValueAct Holdings LP are more patient investors, often committing to years of corporate turnarounds.

“When we show up with strategic initiatives and a CEO rejects our ideas, we say ‘we’d rather be rich than right, convince us why we are wrong,’” said Edward Garden, Trian’s chief investment officer who co-founded the firm with Peltz and Peter May.

Revenue Growth

For more than a year Peltz, 71, has been trying to get PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi to separate the soda and snacks businesses after abandoning calls that it merge with Mondelez International Inc. She has repeatedly rejected the request, describing the moves as “financial engineering.” Peltz, whose fund owns 0.8 percent of PepsiCo, said on March 14 he remains committed to the change, even as the company’s stock underperforms the broader market.