Updating Sony Corp. ADRs, Pepsico Inc. and Sherwin-Williams Co.

Article Excerpt

SONY CORP. ADRs $52 (www.sony.net) has come under pressure from activist investor Daniel Loeb, who through his Third Point hedge fund controls $1.5 billion of the company’s shares, or about 2% of its market cap. The activist wants Sony to spin off its chip business as a separate company, and sell its stakes in publicly traded firms, including Sony Financial, Olympus and Spotify. The remaining firm would then focus on its more-profitable video-gaming and entertainment (movies, TV and music) businesses. Hold. PEPSICO INC. $132 (www.pepsico.com) continues to use acquisitions to cut its reliance on slowing sales of soft drinks. For example, it recently purchased the CytoSport business of Hormel Foods Corp. (New York symbol HRL). CytoSport makes the Muscle Milk line of sports nutrition drinks and powders. PepsiCo paid $465 million, which is equal to 34% of the $1.37 billion, or $0.97 a share, it earned in the first quarter of 2019. Hold. SHERWIN-WILLIAMS CO. $454 (www.sherwin-williams.com) is a leading maker of paints for the construction and automotive industries. It…