1. A method for storing data in a target register, comprising: receiving a dot product instruction specifying at least one source register comprising vector operands for performing a dot product operation, the target register, and a write mask, wherein the write mask identifies one or more locations of the target register for writing data; and in response to receiving the dot product instruction, performing the dot product operation and storing a scalar result of the dot product operation to the one or more locations of the target register identified by the write mask.