Was Woodford right to sell Glaxo and hold AstraZeneca?

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) are the two pharmaceutical giants of the FTSE 100. They are also both high yield dividend stocks with yields of more than 4%.

Another notable fact is that both companies have been long-term holdings of a certain Mr Neil Woodford. But no more.


Following a 15-year holding period, Woodford sold Glaxo earlier this year, partly due to fears about the dividend’s sustainability. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca remains in Woodford’s equity income portfolio with a hefty 8% weighting.

So is AstraZeneca really a better bet than Glaxo? Let’s take a look…

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