Cometh Friday and it's raining cash at CVS Health Corp!

The first quarter results of the nation's second-largest drugstore chain, CVS Health Corp (NYSE: CVS) saw its shares climb 1 percent to close at $100.46. It posted earnings of $1.22 billion, an increase of 8 percent from $1.13 billion over the same period last year.

The company's Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) division, the division that settles the prices that customers pay for prescription drugs, was the chief driver of the high-quality gains. This division witnessed an increase of 18 percent to close at $23 billion. The earnings increase also comes at the back of the strong performance of the pharmacy's Specialty Drugs Division, which made profits on account of augmented sales of Cancer, Hepatitis C and Multiple Sclerosis drugs. The company saw an unexpected EPS increase of 12.2 percent, that is, earnings per share of $1.14.

However, the sales from the drugstore division of CVS fell 3% to $17 billion, a decline attributable to the discontinuation of sales of tobacco products. Nevertheless, what is commendable is that, this loss was offset by gains made by the high-priced specialty dugs division of the pharmacy.

Larry Merlo, CEO, said the company generated approximately $1.6 billion in free cash flow and was able to provide a significant return on capital invested, thereby earning acclaim from its shareholders. He maintained that the pharmacy, through its diversified portfolio of products and services, was able to generate value both for its clients and for patients.

Owing to the strong performance of the company's PBM division in the present financial year 2015-16, beginning this April, Merlo raised the outlook for annual earnings per share for 2015 from 5.08 to 5.19, above the forecasted 5.16.