This is How Billionaire Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Lost Nearly 26% In Q1

#2 Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

 – Shares Owned by Pershing Square (as of December 31): 41.82 Million

 – Value of Pershing Square’s Holding (as of December 31): $2.00 Billion

 – Q1 Return: -7.3%

Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. had 41.82 million shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in its portfolio at the end of 2015, which were worth approximately $2.00 billion. Mr. Ackman’s activist firm acquired a 5.54 million-share stake in the maker of animal drugs and vaccines during the third quarter of 2014, and greatly boosted it to to 41.57 million shares in the fourth quarter. Although Mr. Ackman and his team did not have any plans for Zoetis, it appears that the world’s largest producer of animal medicines and vaccinations may serve as a potential takeover target. In December, German-based chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer AG revealed plans to acquire Zoetis, saying that the two parties held discussions about a possible acquisition. The company’s total revenue for 2015 decreased by roughly $20 million to $4.77 billion, with foreign exchange headwinds impacting Zoetis’ top-line figure by $393 million. The company’s operational revenue grew by $373 million or 8% year-over-year, as a result of volume increases and price increases. Steven Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management owns 4.41 million shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) as of the end of the fourth quarter.

#1 Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE:APD)

 – Shares Owned by Pershing Square (as of December 31): 20.55 Million

 – Value of Pershing Square’s Holding (as of December 31): $2.67 Billion

 – Q1 Return: 11.4%

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE:APD) was Bill Ackman’s largest equity holding at the end of 2015, being comprised of 20.55 million shares valued at $2.67 billion. The company represents a leading Industrial Gases company whose core business involves the sale of atmospheric and process gases, and related equipment to manufacturing markets such as refining and petrochemical, metals, and electronics, among others. Shares of Air Products & Chemicals are down by 5% in the past 12 months despite having climbed by 10% since the beginning of 2016.

Yesterday, the company announced its plans to discontinue its struggling energy-from-waste (EfW) business, after the manufacturer of gases and chemicals experienced setbacks in resolving operational and design challenges. The company’s EfW business involved two projects in the United Kingdom designed to process solid waste to generate renewable power. However, the company suspended the construction of the second project in November due to certain design issues present in the first project. Air Products & Chemical anticipates registering a pre-tax charge in the range of $900 million-to-$1.00 billion in discontinued operations in the second quarter so as to write down assets related to the EfW business. In mid-March, the company’s Board of Directors increased its quarterly dividend payment to $0.86 per share from $0.81, which marks the 34^th consecutive year of the company’s dividend payments being increased. Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global disclosed owning 5.39 million shares of Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE:APD) through the round of 13F filings for the fourth quarter.

Disclosure: None