In financial markets, share is a unit of account for various investments. It often means the stock of a corporation, but is also used for collective investments such as mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts
Shares are valued according to various principles in different markets, but a basic premise is that a share is worth the price at which a transaction would be likely to occur were the shares to be sold. The liquidity of markets is a major as to whether a share is able to be sold at any given time. An actual sale transaction of shares between buyer and seller is usually considered to provide the best prima facie market indicator as to the ’true value’ of shares at that particular time.
So how to purchase shares
The process of buying shares for beginners

In its basic form the trading of shares can be broken down into a few simple processes.
You have buyers and sellers of shares (just like any other market) You have a settlement system: a fool-proof way of moving money from the buyers to the sellers and of moving the shares from the sellers to the buyers. That’s it!
so you have dividends (and other corporate actions) that have to be paid to the right person (the buyer or the seller).