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WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark announced on Friday that it has been named as one of the most reputable companies in America by Reputation Institute, in partnership with Forbes Media.

The survey rankings are based on Reputation Institute's "2012 U.S. RepTrak Pulse," a study that measures the 150 largest U.S. public companies.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target has committed $15,000 in cash and gift cards to assist the Texas communities impacted by recent tornadoes.

Cash donations will be distributed to The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross. In addition, Target has donated gift cards to other local nonprofit organizations for such essentials as water and food.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — You can't uncrack an egg. That's the preliminary reply Express Scripts gave to the district court hearing the case filed by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacist Association to block the merger between Express Scripts and Medco. The pharmacy industry's concern, however, revolves around what kind of beast will hatch from this ESI-Medco merger if that cracked egg isn't unscrambled.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The release by Walgreens of case studies that detail how retail pharmacy can expand access to immunizations is obviously important on several fronts, but it really makes one stop and wonder: What could be done if laws didn't vary by state in terms of what types of vaccinations pharmacists can deliver?

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — It's no secret that something has been afoot for the last few years: Retail pharmacies have gradually metamorphosed from places to pick up pills to destinations for health care — places to get everything from vaccines to care from nurses and even from physicians.

Given retail pharmacies' evolving role, the growing number of employers starting wellness programs has opened up a number of possibilities, which some retail pharmacy companies have already started exploring.

MINNEAPOLIS — For the second month in a row, Target’s same-store sales were nearly double the expected amount. As a result, the company increased its first-quarter guidance.

Same-store sales increased 7.3%, with half of the increase driven by growth in average transaction size combined with an increase in comparable-store transactions. Overall comparable-store sales in March 2011 decreased 5.5%.

FULLERTON, Calif. — Supervalu announced that its Albertsons/Sav-On banner is offering inoculations for whooping cough at 54 of its pharmacies in Washington.

The pertussis “Tdap” vaccine booster is recommended for those ages 11 years and older. Albertsons/Sav-On pharmacists are available to administer the vaccination to patients ages 12 years and older, the company said.

The vaccine is available without a prescription or appointment at $54.99 per immunization and a majority of prescription insurances are accepted.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Sales for the month of March increased 10% for Costco to $9.13 billion, the wholesaler reported Thursday.

For the five weeks ended Apr. 1, comparable-store sales for the month were 6%; U.S. comps were 6% and international comps were 7%. Excluding inflation of gasoline prices and foreign currencies comparable sales for these periods were 6%, including 5% for the United States and 9% for international.