In this article, we will take a look at the Top 12 Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Cliff Asness.
Cliff is the Founder, Managing Principal, and Chief Investment Officer at AQR Capital Management. He is an active researcher and has written extensively on financial topics. His work has appeared in publications including The Journal of Portfolio Management, Financial Analysts Journal, The Journal of Finance, and The Journal of Financial Economics.
In January, Reuters reported that billionaire investor Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management ended the year with double-digit gains across its funds. The firm’s multi-strategy Apex Strategy returned 19.6%, while its alternative trend-following Helix Strategy gained 18.6%. Its stock-focused AQR Delphi Long-Short Equity Strategy delivered a return of 16.8%.
The reported returns were net of fees. These results outperformed a broader group of systematic hedge funds that use algorithms to follow market trends until those trends lose momentum. According to Societe Generale’s indices, an index tracking such trend-following funds finished the year with a gain of just over 2.5%.
Last year, the Financial Times reported that AQR Capital Management was increasingly adopting artificial intelligence and machine learning tools in its trading process. The move marked a shift for a firm that had long been cautious about removing human involvement from investment decisions.
For years, AQR favored rules-based computer models created by people to identify market patterns that could be clearly explained and understood. Although the firm first invested in broad-based machine learning technology in 2018, it expanded the approach beyond equities only more recently. AQR now uses the technology across multiple asset classes and applies it to determine how different factors should be weighted within a portfolio at any given time.
Our Methodology:
For this list, we scanned the AQR Capital Management 13F portfolio as of Q1 2026 and identified dividend stocks from there. We limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 599.2% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 372 percentage points (see more details here).
Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management
12. The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)
AQR Capital Management’s Stake Value: $344,748,513
Dividend Yield as of June 19: 2.47%
On June 19, BMO Capital lowered its price recommendation on The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) to $60 from $70. It reiterated a Market Perform rating following the company’s first-quarter results. The firm said grocery sales came in stronger than expected, but margins were weaker. BMO also noted that Kroger’s guidance is more heavily weighted toward the second half of the year than anticipated because of a softer second quarter. In a research note, the analyst said BMO expects “continued quarterly choppiness” and believes Kroger is still in the early stages of its turnaround efforts.
During the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call, CEO and Director Gregory Foran said Kroger delivered 1% identical sales growth, excluding fuel. The increase was driven by strong performance in e-commerce, Fresh, and the company’s private-label brands.
Foran also said that Kroger’s e-commerce business, including its media operations, became profitable during the quarter.
Executive Vice President and CFO David John Kennerley said the company continued to invest in competitive pricing in a disciplined way. He added that these investments were fully funded through cost-saving initiatives while Kroger maintained a strong focus on margin performance.
The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) is a food and drug retailer that operates supermarkets, multi-department stores, and fulfillment centers across the United States.
11. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)
AQR Capital Management’s Stake Value: $379,258,057
Dividend Yield as of June 19: 1.64%
On June 12, JPMorgan raised its price recommendation on The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) to $900 from $826. It reiterated a Neutral rating on the stock. The firm expects consensus estimates for global investment banks to move higher ahead of second-quarter results, supported by strong trading performance. JPMorgan believes Q2 could become the second-best revenue quarter on record, trailing only the record-setting first quarter. In a research note, the analyst said trading has evolved into a “best execution pre/post trade platform business with the key driver being volatility driving activity levels.” The firm expects Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to outperform when they report earnings.
On June 16, Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs has managed more than $1 trillion in announced mergers and acquisitions so far in 2026. According to a LinkedIn post from the bank citing Dealogic data, the figure represents a record pace for any investment bank during the six months.
The milestone follows Goldman Sachs’ role as lead left underwriter for SpaceX’s landmark initial public offering. The bank also served as co-financial advisor to Dominion Energy in its $66.8 billion sale to NextEra Energy, a transaction announced last month.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) is a global financial institution that provides a broad range of financial services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individual clients.
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