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MetLife Inc. and Progressive Corp. moved higher this week, while Allstate Corp. traded down as developments in M&A, earnings and catastrophe loss guidance informed investors.
Insurance stocks modestly outperformed the broader market overall as the S&P 500 declined 0.64% for the week ending Sept. 18 to 3,319.47, while the SNL U.S. Insurance Index edged up 0.44% to 1,055.39.
MetLife announced a proposed acquisition of Versant Health Inc. that stands to make it a major player in the vision care marketplace. Versant's business would open up an avenue for growth in group benefits, already a "more attractive and faster-growing segment for MetLife," Moody's analyst Manoj Jethani said in a Sept. 17 research note.
"Its revenue and earnings contribution in recent years has increased,...