In Deering Milliken, Inc. v. Clark Estates, Inc. (43 NY2d 545 [1978]) the Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division's determination that a particular agreement for the purchase and sale of stock contemplated a future transfer of the stock. Furthermore, the lower court held that the buyer was not entitled to dividends declared before the transfer of beneficial interest in the stock (id. at 548). The Court stated: A purchaser of stock acquires "by a contract of present sale a right to the benefits which may accrue on the stock bought, and that right is, for convenience, called the 'beneficial ownership' of the stock." A different result attends the execution of a contract to make a sale in the future. "In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the buyer under an executory contract to sell stock is not entitled to dividends until the legal title to the stock has passed to him, which is not until delivery is made to him or is due to him and is offered to be made, unless there is something in the contract specifying or implying a contrary intention. Where there is a sale of stock in praesenti, but the date of delivery and payment is postponed, the vendee is entitled to all dividends declared between the date of the agreement and the date of closing to the purchaser." (Id. at 549.)