Audience Targeting issue: CT_AU_ANONYMOUSUSER table is populated in the database

Issue

I have an issue with the CT_AU_ANONYMOUSUSER table. It is populated and updated in the database even though there is no user activity.

There is an issue with the records being consistent in their presence in DB but inconsistent with the configuration options.
The configuration set in System Settings is not being taken into account because is always overridden by the value set in Instance Settings > Audience Target Analytics > Anonymous Users.
In order to resolve the issue, the Audience Targeting Anonymous Users should be disabled from instance settings by performing the following:
Go to Control Panel --> Configuration --> Instance Settings --> Audience Target Analytics > Anonymous Users and set the toggle to "No".