When it comes to serious savings and funds needed over the longer term, investors shouldn't be afraid to pay a premium for a quality stock. If you can buy a quality stock at a relatively low price, though, so much the better.

Here are three high-quality, low-cost value stocks, meeting that description, that you could buy sizable stakes in now and hold on to for years.

While U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is one of the 10 largest financial institutions in the country, it is smaller than the likes of JPMorgan Chase or Bank of America, and doesn't do as much business in certain areas the banking giants are best known for. For instance, corporate fundraising, institutional trading, and wealth management aren't major profit centers for U.S. Bank. This limits its revenue and earnings growth prospects, particularly when the economy is firing on all cylinders.

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Source Fool.com