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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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John Kingham: John Kingham is an experienced private investor, investment blogger and newsletter publisher. His professional background is in computer software for the insurance industry, where he worked for clients ranging from Lloyd's syndicates to some of the world's largest general insurers. In 2011 John left the computer software industry and began publishing UK Value Investor, a monthly investment newsletter for defensive value investors. His website can be found at: www.ukvalueinvestor.com.