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CVS Health Corp. reported higher profit and sales in its fourth quarter, as rising sales of prescription drugs offset a slight drop in sales in the front-end of its stores, where traffic continues to erode. ... The results were also boosted by two recent acquisitions that allow CVS to cover more patients: Omnicare Inc., which dispenses drugs to places like nursing homes; and Target Corp.’s pharmacy business, which gives CVS nearly 1,700 more locations. As both those acquisitions become integrated, CVS plans to market them aggressively to help sign up more clients to its network. (Dulaney and Ziobro, 2/9)

CVS Health Corp. earnings matched analysts’ earnings estimates in the fourth quarter, after the August acquisition of nursing-home pharmacy Omnicare helped drive sales growth at its drugstores. Earnings were $1.53 a share excluding one-time items, the Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based company said in a statement, reiterating its 2016 earnings forecast. Fourth-quarter sales in the retail-pharmacies division rose 12 percent, with about half of the increase coming from the long-term care business bought as part of Omnicare. That deal also boosted revenue at the pharmacy benefit management business, which contracts with health insurers and employers. (Langreth, 2/9)

Acquisitions helped CVS Health's fourth-quarter profit climb 13 percent, and leaders of the drugstore operator and pharmacy benefits manager said Tuesday that they expect to reap more gains from their deal making later this year. The Woonsocket, Rhode Island, company spent more than $10 billion to buy pharmaceutical distributor Omnicare in a deal that closed last summer and about $1.9 billion to take over the pharmacy and clinic business of retail giant Target Corp. (Murphy, 2/9)

CVS Health Corp (CVS.N), the No.2 U.S. drugstore chain by store count, forecast current-quarter profit below analysts' estimates as customer traffic to its retail stores slows. Shares of the company, which sells items such as personal care products, over-the-counter drugs and snacks at its retail stores, fell 2.4 percent in premarket trading on Tuesday. (Patnaik, 2/9)